KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC Buys 2,423 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC raised its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 4.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 56,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,423 shares during the period. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $4,571,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in MetLife by 109.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $722,727,000 after purchasing an additional 4,606,748 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 13,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 2,940 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 776,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,559,000 after acquiring an additional 12,723 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 435,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,687,000 after acquiring an additional 28,848 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 56.0% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 38,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,123,000 after acquiring an additional 13,690 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $79.99 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.21 and a 12-month high of $89.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.86.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.04). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. The company had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. MetLife’s payout ratio is 36.91%.

MetLife announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.17.

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.