Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Acquires 280 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $875,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter worth approximately $558,460,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 20.9% in 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 period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of MetLife by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,878,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $256,468,000 after buying an additional 104,116 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of MetLife by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,664,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $176,304,000 after buying an additional 240,564 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of MetLife by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,005,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $132,641,000 after buying an additional 35,782 shares in the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Price Performance

NYSE MET opened at $70.19 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $71.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.12, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.18 and a 1-year high of $74.68.

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

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback 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 buy up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th were issued a $0.545 dividend. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on MetLife from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on MetLife from $88.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Argus upped their target price on MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.92.

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.