Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO Acquires 353 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO lifted its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 7.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO’s holdings in MetLife were worth $399,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MET. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET traded down $0.67 on Friday, hitting $70.19. The company had a trading volume of 6,497,551 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,392,953. The stock has a market cap of $49.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $71.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.05. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.18 and a 1-year high of $74.68. 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 (NYSE:MET) last issued 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 net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 20.39%. The firm had revenue of $17.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.73 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current year.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan 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 plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th were issued a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Argus upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Piper Sandler cut their target price on MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.92.

About MetLife

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.