RFG Advisory LLC Acquires 257 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

RFG Advisory LLC raised its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 4.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,181 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Marcum Wealth LLC increased its position in MetLife by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 3,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 8,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 10.7% in the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Wealth Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Evergreen Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 6,601 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

MetLife Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of MET opened at $72.12 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $71.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.99. The company has a market capitalization of $51.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $53.04 and a 1-year high of $74.68.

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

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th were paid a $0.545 dividend. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.91%.

MetLife declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.