GAMMA Investing LLC Increases Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 8,789.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 815,889 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 806,711 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned approximately 0.12% of MetLife worth $65,508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew 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 purchasing an additional 4,606,748 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position 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 position 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 position 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 grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 13,690 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target 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. Finally, Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. 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 an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $94.17.

MetLife Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of MetLife stock traded down $0.46 on Wednesday, reaching $78.86. The company had a trading volume of 2,235,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,394,015. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $76.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.93. The firm has a market cap of $52.94 billion, a PE ratio of 13.21, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.86. 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 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. MetLife's revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program 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 purchase up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This is an increase from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.91%.

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.