MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Cohen Klingenstein LLC

Cohen Klingenstein LLC cut its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 18.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,500 shares during the quarter. Cohen Klingenstein LLC's holdings in MetLife were worth $2,709,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. CX Institutional increased its holdings in MetLife by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. CX Institutional now owns 73,059 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,866,000 after purchasing an additional 5,054 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 25.2% in the first quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,045 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 1,017 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 4,044 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in MetLife by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 107,382 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,622,000 after acquiring an additional 13,068 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sonora Investment Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC now owns 5,607 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $450,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MET. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. 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. Wall Street Zen cut MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $94.17.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET traded down $0.05 during trading on Thursday, hitting $78.86. 826,674 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,378,373. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $76.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.75. The company has a market cap of $52.94 billion, a PE ratio of 13.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.86. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.21 and a 12-month high of $89.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.04). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. The firm had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.06 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

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

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were paid a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This is a boost from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 6th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.91%.

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.