Curat Global LLC Takes $916,000 Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Curat Global LLC bought a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 11,407 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $916,000. MetLife comprises about 1.1% of Curat Global LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 73.5% during the first quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 27,161 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,181,000 after purchasing an additional 11,507 shares in the last quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 6.6% in the first quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 19,028 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,528,000 after acquiring an additional 1,180 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.9% in the first quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 11,689 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $957,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.1% in the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 8,012 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $643,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenfield Savings Bank lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.1% in the first quarter. Greenfield Savings Bank now owns 21,278 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,708,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $78.46 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $65.21 and a one year high of $89.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $76.18 and a 200-day moving average of $80.89. The company has a market capitalization of $52.67 billion, a PE ratio of 13.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS 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 company had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. MetLife's revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. This is an increase from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is 36.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MET. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group increased their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MetLife currently has an average 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.

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