Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC Increases Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC boosted its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,016 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $574,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MET. United Asset Strategies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $895,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $978,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 2,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $495,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Davis R M Inc. increased its holdings in MetLife by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

MET stock opened at $77.82 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.21 and a 12-month high of $89.05. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $52.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. MetLife’s revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a $0.5675 dividend. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on MetLife from $109.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group upped their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.69.

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.