New York State Teachers Retirement System Lowers Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 536,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 44,373 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in MetLife were worth $44,236,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Advisor Resource Council purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the 1st quarter worth approximately $288,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its position in shares of MetLife by 8.2% during the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 19,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,420,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453 shares in the last quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 3,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 20,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,549,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norden Group LLC increased its position in MetLife by 152.9% during the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 8,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $601,000 after buying an additional 4,906 shares in the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MET shares. Citigroup raised their price target on MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of MetLife in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler upped their target price on MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.46.

MetLife Stock Up 0.5 %

MET stock opened at $83.22 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $58.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $80.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.75. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.89 and a 12 month high of $86.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. The company had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 5th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.76%.

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.