Simon Quick Advisors LLC Has $426,000 Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Simon Quick Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 26.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,303 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,109 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MET. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MET. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned 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 price target of $94.17.

MetLife Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $77.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.21 and a 52-week high of $89.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $76.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.62.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.04). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. The firm had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were issued a $0.5675 dividend. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.91%.

MetLife announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership 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.