Legacy Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Legacy Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 6.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 218 shares during the quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $274,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 11,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $964,000 after purchasing an additional 1,969 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,083,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in MetLife by 59.4% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 15,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,247,000 after purchasing an additional 5,679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 5,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $469,000 after purchasing an additional 994 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of MET stock opened at $79.14 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $53.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.87, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.86. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $65.21 and a one year high of $89.05. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $77.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 20.89%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.83 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were issued a $0.5675 dividend. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 6th. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 36.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MET. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has a consensus 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.