MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Purchased by EP Wealth Advisors LLC

EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 15.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 747 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $414,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its position in MetLife by 73.3% in the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of MET stock traded up $0.68 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $76.00. 2,397,119 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,968,688. The business’s fifty day moving average is $71.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.99. 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 12-month low of $57.91 and a 12-month high of $76.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.11.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83. MetLife had a net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 20.39%. The company had revenue of $17.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 74.91%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on MET shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Finally, Argus boosted their price target 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.08.

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.