MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Stake Trimmed by Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lowered its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 6.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,776 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in MetLife were worth $3,831,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MET. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in MetLife by 678.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 287,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,000,000 after acquiring an additional 250,402 shares in the last quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new position in MetLife during the 1st quarter valued at about $7,012,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in MetLife by 54.9% during the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 371,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,983,000 after acquiring an additional 131,538 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in MetLife by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,005,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $132,641,000 after acquiring an additional 35,782 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in MetLife during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,053,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MET shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Citigroup lifted their price target on MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.14.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET stock traded down $5.22 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $70.56. 6,766,390 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,979,832. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $57.91 and a fifty-two week high of $79.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $71.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. MetLife’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. Analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.91%.

MetLife announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc, a financial services company, provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management services worldwide. It operates through six segments: Retirement and Income Solutions; Group Benefits; Asia; Latin America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and MetLife Holdings. The company offers life, dental, group short-and long-term disability, individual disability, pet insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, vision, and accident and health coverages, as well as prepaid legal plans; administrative services-only arrangements to employers; and general and separate account, and synthetic guaranteed interest contracts, as well as private floating rate funding agreements.