D.A. Davidson & CO. Grows Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 21.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 27,986 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,878 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,247,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MET. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of MetLife stock traded down $1.45 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $79.20. 2,495,461 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,367,654. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.85. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve month 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 0.55. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.11.

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 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 business had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

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

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th were issued a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. This is an increase from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. MetLife's payout ratio is presently 36.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on MET. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Barclays upped their target price on MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $94.67.

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.