MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. decreased its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 27.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,621 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,920 shares during the quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.'s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,495,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in MetLife by 33.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 24,663,239 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,019,427,000 after purchasing an additional 6,213,923 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in MetLife during the first quarter valued at approximately $336,965,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in MetLife by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,052,202 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $577,434,000 after purchasing an additional 958,458 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in MetLife by 8,789.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 815,889 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $65,508,000 after purchasing an additional 806,711 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth approximately $62,265,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE:MET traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $77.69. 440,392 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,410,042. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.16, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.85. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.21 and a 52-week high of $89.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company's 50 day moving average price is $77.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.83.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.30). The business had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.58 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 19.88%. The firm's revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.28 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be paid a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 5th. MetLife's payout ratio is currently 38.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $97.00 price objective (up from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.00.

MetLife 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.