Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co Makes New $596,000 Investment in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 8,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $596,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MET. CNB Bank increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 9.3% during the first quarter. CNB Bank now owns 1,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $129,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.9% during the first quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 5,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife by 4.7% during the first quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 3,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 12.5% during the first quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 73.3% in the 1st quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Trading Up 0.1 %

MET traded up $0.10 on Wednesday, hitting $76.85. 3,317,534 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,316,397. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $57.91 and a 12 month high of $77.50. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.65 billion, a PE ratio of 26.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.11.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $17.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 20.39%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.59 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 6th. MetLife’s payout ratio is 74.91%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.