Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Buys 345 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 8.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.17.

MetLife Price Performance

NYSE MET opened at $78.51 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $77.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.21 and a 12-month high of $89.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.86.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.89% and a net margin of 6.08%. MetLife’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 36.91%.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.