Tempus Wealth Planning LLC Has $268,000 Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Tempus Wealth Planning LLC raised its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 5.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $268,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Marcum Wealth LLC increased its position in MetLife by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 3,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife by 73.3% during the 1st quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its position in shares of MetLife by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 8,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $588,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Austin Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its position in shares of MetLife by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $135,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET opened at $70.16 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. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $56.13 and a twelve month high of $74.68. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $71.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.20. 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.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th were issued a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 6th. 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 dividend yield of 3.11%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MET shares. StockNews.com cut shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.23.

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.