Precedent Wealth Partners LLC Has $1.62 Million Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Precedent Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 17.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,999 shares during the quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,616,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of MetLife by 109.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $722,727,000 after purchasing an additional 4,606,748 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 13,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 2,940 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in MetLife by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 776,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,559,000 after purchasing an additional 12,723 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in MetLife by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 435,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,687,000 after purchasing an additional 28,848 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 56.0% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 38,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,123,000 after purchasing an additional 13,690 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE MET opened at $77.22 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $51.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $76.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.52. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.21 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $18.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. MetLife’s quarterly revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th were paid a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 36.91%.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on MET shares. Barclays cut their target price on MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group raised their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.17.

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.