Sweeney & Michel LLC Takes Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Sweeney & Michel LLC bought a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 6,343 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $509,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on MET. Barclays reduced their price objective on MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.17.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $78.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 635,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,384,365. The business's 50 day moving average price is $76.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.92. The company has a market cap of $52.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.86. 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, 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 data 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 firm had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. The business's revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.83 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

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

MetLife announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program 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 buy up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.