St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC Has $956,000 Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC grew its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 6.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 823 shares during the quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $956,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth $558,460,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth $52,752,000. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife by 54.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,126,683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $133,790,000 after acquiring an additional 746,643 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of MetLife by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,053,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $268,090,000 after acquiring an additional 700,788 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the third quarter worth $31,455,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MET shares. StockNews.com upgraded MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on MetLife from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.08.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $71.18 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $50.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.12. 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 1-year low of $53.92 and a 1-year high of $74.68. The business’s 50 day moving average is $71.26 and its 200-day moving average is $70.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83. The company had revenue of $17.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.73 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.39% and a net margin of 3.50%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 6th. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.91%.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.