Marcum Wealth LLC Grows Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Marcum Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 4.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 153 shares during the quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $558,460,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $52,752,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 54.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,126,683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $133,790,000 after purchasing an additional 746,643 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in MetLife by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,053,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $268,090,000 after purchasing an additional 700,788 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec acquired a new position in MetLife in the third quarter valued at $31,455,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

MetLife stock opened at $71.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $50.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.49, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.12. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.97 and a 1 year high of $74.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $71.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.89.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.39% and a net margin of 3.50%. The business had revenue of $17.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th were issued a $0.545 dividend. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MET shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on MetLife from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Argus increased their price target on MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.08.

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.