Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. Cuts Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. trimmed its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 0.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 292 shares during the period. MetLife accounts for 1.6% of Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $5,166,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barrett & Company Inc. raised its position in shares of MetLife by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $978,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 2,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of MetLife by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $495,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Davis R M Inc. raised its position in shares of MetLife by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in shares of MetLife by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 11,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $925,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Up 1.8%

MetLife stock opened at $79.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $76.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.87. The company has a market cap of $53.70 billion, a PE ratio of 13.40, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.86. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.21 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 36.91%.

MetLife announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on MET shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.17.

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.