Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $397,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Up 1.2 %

MET stock traded up $0.89 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $72.54. 3,029,280 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,186,579. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.38 and a 12-month high of $74.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $72.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.09.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.83. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.39% and a net margin of 3.50%. The company had revenue of $17.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. MetLife’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current year.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. MetLife’s payout ratio is 74.91%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total value of $1,951,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total transaction of $289,469.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total value of $1,951,290.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MET shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on MetLife from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 11th. UBS Group reduced their price target on MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.08.

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.