Advisor Resource Council Buys New Shares in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Advisor Resource Council bought a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $288,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 73.3% in the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC increased its stake in MetLife by 114.7% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Argus increased their price objective on MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.23.

MetLife Price Performance

MET opened at $70.16 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $49.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.11, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $56.13 and a fifty-two week high of $74.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $71.17 and a 200 day moving average of $70.20.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 20.39%. The company had revenue of $17.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. MetLife’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.61 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

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

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

MetLife Company 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.