Farther Finance Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 36.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,330 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,133 shares during the quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC's holdings in MetLife were worth $1,244,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Performance

MET stock traded down $1.77 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $77.22. 3,450,695 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,385,518. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.21 and a 52 week high of $89.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.84 billion, a PE ratio of 12.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $76.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.70.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.04). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. The company had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. The firm's quarterly 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 year.

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

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were issued 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $94.17.

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.