SVB Wealth LLC Grows Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

SVB Wealth LLC lifted its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $750,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MET. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,477 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 6,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $469,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $203,000. JB Capital LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 127,703 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,445,000 after acquiring an additional 20,462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its position in MetLife by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 182,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,061,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Argus boosted their price target on MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.08.

MetLife Stock Performance

MET traded down $0.50 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $75.50. 1,898,900 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,319,064. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $71.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.02. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $57.91 and a 52-week high of $76.90.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.83. The firm had revenue of $17.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.73 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.39% and a net margin of 3.50%. MetLife’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.59 EPS 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 $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.91%.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board 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.