Symmetry Partners LLC Boosts Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Symmetry Partners LLC raised its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 39.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,335 shares during the quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $584,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. CNB Bank grew its stake in MetLife by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. CNB Bank now owns 1,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $129,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 2.9% during the first quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 5,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 4.7% during the first quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 3,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 12.5% during the first quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 73.3% during the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MET. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.77.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MetLife stock traded up $0.27 during trading on Friday, hitting $69.92. 1,006,269 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,354,730. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.22. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $57.91 and a 52-week high of $79.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.94, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.11.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.15. MetLife had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The firm had revenue of $17.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.91%.

MetLife announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan 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 buy up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.