LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 740,369 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 20,580 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.11% of MetLife worth $59,444,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Eagle Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 2,707 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group grew its holdings in MetLife by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 13,647 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,096,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. increased its position in shares of MetLife by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 6,463 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $519,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Unigestion Holding SA raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 23,661 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,900,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 4.0% during the first quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,330 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
MET has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $97.00 price objective (up previously from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays upped their price target on MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $96.09.
Read Our Latest Analysis on MET
MetLife Trading Up 1.6%
Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $75.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company's 50-day moving average price is $78.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.55. The company has a market cap of $50.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.85. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.21 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05.
MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 20.89%. MetLife's revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.
MetLife declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.
MetLife Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. MetLife's payout ratio is presently 36.91%.
MetLife Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MET? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report).
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