Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC Makes New Investment in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,334 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $268,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $260,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in MetLife by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,240 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in MetLife by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,180 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,570,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares during the period. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in MetLife by 48.2% during the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,779 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $473,000 after acquiring an additional 1,880 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Price Performance

MET stock traded down $1.77 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $77.22. 3,450,695 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,386,122. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $76.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.70. The stock has a market cap of $51.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.93, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.86. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.21 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05. 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 (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This is an increase from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.91%.

MetLife declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on MET. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $94.17.

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.