Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Has $1.19 Million Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 124.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,754 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,179 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.'s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,185,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in MetLife by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 422,684 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,937,000 after buying an additional 19,192 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in MetLife by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 435,847 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,687,000 after buying an additional 28,848 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in MetLife by 52.1% in the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 9,355 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $751,000 after buying an additional 3,204 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc bought a new position in MetLife in the 1st quarter valued at $255,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in MetLife by 20.7% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 60,785 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,735,000 after buying an additional 10,414 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $97.00 price target (up from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $98.00 price target (down previously from $99.00) on shares of MetLife in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. UBS Group lifted their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on MetLife from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $95.50.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET traded down $0.15 during trading on Friday, reaching $77.18. 2,065,460 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,357,426. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.21 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The firm has a market cap of $51.81 billion, a PE ratio of 12.55, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $78.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last issued 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). The company had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 20.89%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be paid a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. MetLife's payout ratio is 36.91%.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 purchase up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are 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.