MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC

Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC lowered its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 13,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,111,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $80.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $53.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.15. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.21 and a 52-week high of $89.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. MetLife’s revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be paid a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 36.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler increased their target price on MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays lowered their price target on MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.08.

MetLife 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.