Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires New Shares in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 3,861 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $286,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in MetLife by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 32,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,416,000 after acquiring an additional 1,810 shares during the last quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 17,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,273,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 23,427 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,736,000 after purchasing an additional 1,842 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 11,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $875,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. Finally, St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 12,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $956,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE MET traded down $0.67 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $70.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,006,315 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,388,991. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $71.31 and a 200 day moving average of $70.05. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.18 and a twelve month high of $74.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.22, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 20.39%. The business had revenue of $17.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. MetLife’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price 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. Argus upped their price objective 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. One 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, the company presently has an average 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.