MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Nisa Investment Advisors LLC

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 218,285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 806 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $15,321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at about $558,460,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in MetLife by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,622,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,418,612,000 after acquiring an additional 1,974,268 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $131,456,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in MetLife by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,053,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $268,090,000 after acquiring an additional 700,788 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 29.7% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,120,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $157,133,000 after purchasing an additional 485,811 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MET. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Argus raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.00.

MetLife Stock Up 0.3 %

MET opened at $73.25 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The business’s fifty day moving average is $71.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.34. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $57.91 and a one year high of $79.34. The company has a market cap of $52.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.17, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.11.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. The business’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 74.91%.

MetLife declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is 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.