WASHINGTON TRUST Co Purchases 500 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co raised its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 80.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in MetLife were worth $79,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its position in MetLife by 73.3% during the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC grew its stake in MetLife by 114.7% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of MetLife stock traded up $0.56 on Tuesday, hitting $70.41. The stock had a trading volume of 3,249,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,352,275. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $71.66 and a 200 day moving average of $71.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.28, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.11. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $57.91 and a twelve month high of $79.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

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

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock 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 purchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Piper Sandler reduced 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.85.

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.