MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Position Increased by One Wealth Advisors LLC

One Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 206.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,442 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 7,037 shares during the quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in MetLife were worth $838,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Eagle Strategies LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 4.8% in the 4th 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% in the 1st quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 13,647 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,096,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in MetLife by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 11,295 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $925,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA grew its holdings in MetLife by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 23,661 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,900,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of MET traded up $0.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $78.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,227,602 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,461,158. The business has a fifty day moving average of $78.67 and a 200 day moving average of $79.70. The company has a market cap of $52.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.85. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.21 and a 1 year high of $89.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last released its 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 business had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 purchase up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be issued a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. MetLife's payout ratio is currently 36.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MET. UBS Group increased their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays increased their price target on MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on MetLife from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.09.

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.