Jacobi Capital Management LLC Has $1 Million Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Jacobi Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 26.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,758 shares during the quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of MetLife by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,622,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,418,612,000 after buying an additional 1,974,268 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $558,460,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of MetLife by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,053,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $268,090,000 after buying an additional 700,788 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of MetLife by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,878,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $256,468,000 after buying an additional 104,116 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of MetLife by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,772,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $205,544,000 after buying an additional 108,739 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.46.

MetLife Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE MET traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $75.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,270,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,340,502. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $57.91 and a fifty-two week high of $76.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.62, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.79.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83. MetLife had a net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 20.39%. The company had revenue of $17.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.73 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.59 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 74.91%.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program 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 repurchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.