MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Position Lifted by Founders Financial Securities LLC

Founders Financial Securities LLC raised its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. Founders Financial Securities LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $969,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 8,856 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $557,000 after acquiring an additional 2,952 shares in the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the third quarter valued at $474,000. Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 325.8% during the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 33,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,086,000 after purchasing an additional 25,373 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the third quarter worth $31,455,000. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,120,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

MET traded down $0.67 on Friday, reaching $70.19. The company had a trading volume of 6,497,638 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,981,930. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $55.18 and a one year high of $74.68. The company has a market capitalization of $49.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.12, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a fifty day moving average of $71.31 and a 200-day moving average of $70.13. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.73 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current year.

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

MetLife Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on MET. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com raised MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.92.

MetLife 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.