Leo Wealth LLC Invests $258,000 in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Leo Wealth LLC bought a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 3,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. DT Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MET shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Argus boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.08.

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE MET opened at $69.38 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.97 and a 12-month high of $74.68. The firm has a market cap of $49.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.84, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.12.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.83. The business had revenue of $17.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.73 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 20.39%. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th were paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 74.91%.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management 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.