Federated Hermes Inc. cut its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 3.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 116,509 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,524 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.'s holdings in MetLife were worth $9,355,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. North Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Motco raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 105.5% in the 1st quarter. Motco now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
MetLife Stock Up 1.1%
Shares of MET traded up $0.85 on Monday, reaching $74.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,797,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,910,508. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.25 billion, a PE ratio of 8.97, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.85. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve month high of $89.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $78.40 and a 200-day moving average of $79.40.
MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
MetLife Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be issued a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.91%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MET. Wall Street Zen downgraded MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Barclays upped their price target on MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $97.00 price objective (up previously from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $98.00 target price (down from $99.00) on shares of MetLife in a report on Monday, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $96.10.
View Our Latest Report on MET
MetLife Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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