Vest Financial LLC Boosts Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 73.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,161 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying 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.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MET. Eagle Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 2,707 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its position in MetLife by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $495,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Davis R M Inc. lifted its position in MetLife by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,148 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in MetLife by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 11,295 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $925,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Community Bank grew its holdings in MetLife by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. United Community Bank now owns 5,571 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays lowered their price objective on MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $94.17.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $79.61. The company had a trading volume of 1,937,938 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,392,948. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.21 and a 12-month high of $89.05. The company has a fifty day moving average of $76.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.82. The company has a market cap of $53.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.34, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. MetLife'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 earned $1.83 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be paid a $0.5675 dividend. This is a positive change from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is 36.91%.

MetLife announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife 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.