InterOcean Capital Group LLC Takes Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

InterOcean Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 4,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $308,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its holdings in MetLife by 73.3% in the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife by 114.7% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

MetLife stock traded up $0.80 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $75.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,515,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,335,220. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $53.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.13, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.11. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $57.91 and a 1-year high of $76.90. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $71.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.92.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83. The company had revenue of $17.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.73 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 20.39%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.59 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be paid a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on MET. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.08.

MetLife 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.