MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Acquired by Sunbelt Securities Inc.

Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 22.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 214.4% in the 1st quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 10,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $793,000 after buying an additional 7,299 shares during the period. Unison Advisors LLC increased its stake in MetLife by 1.1% during the first quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 50,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,777,000 after acquiring an additional 564 shares during the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC raised its position in MetLife by 15.8% in the first quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,058 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 691 shares during the period. Strategic Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. Strategic Planning Group LLC now owns 18,581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,377,000 after purchasing an additional 2,505 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Navalign LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Navalign LLC now owns 11,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $836,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET stock opened at $70.19 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $49.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.12, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $71.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.18 and a 12 month high of $74.68.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th were issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 6th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Piper Sandler cut their target price on MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 6th. StockNews.com upgraded MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on MetLife from $88.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.92.

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.