MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Stock Holdings Reduced by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System reduced its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 3.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 513,434 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 20,521 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.08% of MetLife worth $41,224,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MET. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $94.17.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET traded down $0.90 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $80.20. The company had a trading volume of 953,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,360,184. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.21 and a 52 week high of $89.05. The business's 50-day moving average is $78.46 and its 200 day moving average is $80.13. The company has a market cap of $53.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.04, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.04). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.89% and a net margin of 6.08%. The company 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 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This is an increase from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. MetLife's payout ratio is currently 36.91%.

MetLife announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's leadership 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.