Cary Street Partners Financial LLC Takes $1.85 Million Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 22,643 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,854,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MET. United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its holdings in MetLife by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $895,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. grew its holdings in MetLife by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $978,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Eagle Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 2,707 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its position in MetLife by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $495,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Davis R M Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,148 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. 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 research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $92.69.

MetLife Trading Up 3.0%

MetLife stock traded up $2.32 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $80.17. 1,194,382 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,394,619. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.43, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85. 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's 50 day simple moving average is $77.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.19. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.21 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.04). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. The business had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This is a positive change from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.91%.

MetLife announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase 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 repurchase up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.