Simplicity Wealth LLC Purchases 1,118 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Simplicity Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 18.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,118 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 10.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $816,000 after acquiring an additional 984 shares during the last quarter. Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the 1st quarter worth about $268,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the 1st quarter worth about $474,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 36.9% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 15,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,244,000 after purchasing an additional 4,133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 39,409 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,164,000 after purchasing an additional 2,119 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Down 0.7%

MetLife stock opened at $78.90 on Thursday. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve month high of $89.05. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $76.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.75. The company has a market capitalization of $52.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.22, a P/E/G 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.

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

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th were issued a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 6th. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MET. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.17.

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.