MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Bought by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 73.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,161 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,507 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in MetLife were worth $2,181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MET. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $260,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in MetLife by 9.0% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in MetLife by 36.8% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 50,371 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,118,000 after buying an additional 13,554 shares during the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its stake in MetLife by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 3,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp lifted its holdings in MetLife by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp now owns 4,601 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 427 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET traded down $0.76 on Wednesday, hitting $78.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,062,291 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,382,118. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.21 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The stock's 50-day moving average is $76.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The company has a market capitalization of $52.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.86.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

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

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were given a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. This is an increase from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is 36.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MET shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.