MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Stake Lifted by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 52.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,355 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,204 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in MetLife were worth $751,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $260,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,240 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 8,168 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $669,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in MetLife by 114.3% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 10,276 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $881,000 after purchasing an additional 5,481 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in MetLife by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $495,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen cut MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. UBS Group boosted 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $94.17.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $78.51 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $65.21 and a one year high of $89.05. The business's 50-day moving average price is $77.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.42. The company has a market capitalization of $52.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.86.

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 analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 20.89% and a net margin of 6.08%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. Analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th were paid a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. This is a positive change from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. MetLife's payout ratio is presently 36.91%.

About MetLife

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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