Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC Raises Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 3.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 146,959 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,377 shares during the period. MetLife comprises about 1.9% of Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in MetLife were worth $11,799,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of MetLife by 109.2% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 4,606,748 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 27.3% in the fourth 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 grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 776,244 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $63,559,000 after purchasing an additional 12,723 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 435,847 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,687,000 after purchasing an additional 28,848 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its position in MetLife by 56.0% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 38,139 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,123,000 after buying an additional 13,690 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on MET shares. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. 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. 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 research note on Friday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $94.17.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MetLife stock traded down $1.77 during trading on Friday, reaching $77.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,450,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,390,480. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $76.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.57. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.21 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $51.84 billion, a PE ratio of 12.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.86.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. The firm had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.83 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were 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 dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 6th. MetLife's payout ratio is presently 36.91%.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are 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.