Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. Increases Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CNB Bank boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. CNB Bank now owns 1,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Strategic Blueprint LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 5,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 3,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 5,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $418,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 12.5% during the 1st quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $109,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Argus boosted 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. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.85.

MetLife Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of MetLife stock traded up $0.78 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $71.19. The company had a trading volume of 1,205,231 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,348,827. The company’s 50-day moving average is $71.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.24. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $57.91 and a twelve month high of $79.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $50.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.11.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $17.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 21.41%. MetLife’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 74.91%.

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.