Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV Raises Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 20.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV’s holdings in MetLife were worth $153,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,622,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,418,612,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974,268 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $558,460,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,053,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $268,090,000 after buying an additional 700,788 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,878,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $256,468,000 after purchasing an additional 104,116 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in MetLife by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,772,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $205,544,000 after buying an additional 108,739 shares during the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Down 3.7 %

NYSE:MET traded down $2.60 on Monday, reaching $67.96. The stock had a trading volume of 5,519,768 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,368,943. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.91 and a 12-month high of $79.34. The stock has a market cap of $48.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a 50-day moving average of $71.94 and a 200 day moving average of $71.25.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $17.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on MET. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Argus upped their target price on MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.77.

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.