1,600 Shares in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Purchased by Graybill Wealth Management LTD.

Graybill Wealth Management LTD. purchased a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $128,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. North Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in MetLife during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MET shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on MetLife from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group upped their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.58.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $77.69 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.99. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.21 and a 12 month high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.04). MetLife had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 20.89%. The company had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.83 earnings per share. MetLife’s revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be issued a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 36.91%.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is 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.