PSI Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

PSI Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 23.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 309 shares during the period. PSI Advisors LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $79,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Eagle Strategies LLC lifted its position in MetLife by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 2,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Davis R M Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in MetLife by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 11,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $925,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Community Bank increased its holdings in MetLife by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. United Community Bank now owns 5,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $456,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET stock opened at $78.51 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.21 and a 12-month high of $89.05. The business’s 50 day moving average is $77.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.42. The company has a market capitalization of $52.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.86.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 20.89%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. Analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were paid a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 36.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on MET. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.17.

MetLife Company Profile

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.