Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Buys 3,719 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 3.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 102,181 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,719 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in MetLife were worth $8,204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $79.69 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $53.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.20. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 20.89%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th were issued a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. This is a positive change from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.91%.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on MET. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.17.

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.

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