Claro Advisors LLC Buys New Shares in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 13,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $984,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the third quarter worth approximately $474,000. Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife by 325.8% during the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 33,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,086,000 after purchasing an additional 25,373 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth $31,455,000. United Services Automobile Association increased its position in MetLife by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 17,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after buying an additional 2,433 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in MetLife by 66.5% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 99,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,258,000 after buying an additional 39,719 shares during the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. 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. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, MetLife has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.92.

MetLife Stock Performance

MET opened at $69.88 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $56.13 and a 52-week high of $74.68. The company has a market cap of $49.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.01, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.11. 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 (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly 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. MetLife had a net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 20.39%. The firm had revenue of $17.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.73 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. MetLife’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.91%.

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