Hills Bank & Trust Co Boosts Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Hills Bank & Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in MetLife were worth $130,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MET. GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 73.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the second quarter worth $39,000. Advantage Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 114.7% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on MET. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective 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. Argus increased their price objective on MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. StockNews.com upgraded MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.00.

MetLife Stock Up 0.6 %

MET traded up $0.42 on Monday, hitting $74.76. The company had a trading volume of 307,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,346,309. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $72.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.54. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.91 and a 12-month high of $79.34.

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

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock 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 reacquire up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 6th. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 74.91%.

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.