Silver Lake Advisory LLC Buys 269 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Silver Lake Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 0.4% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 74,441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 269 shares during the quarter. MetLife accounts for about 2.6% of Silver Lake Advisory LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Silver Lake Advisory LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $5,977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MET. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $79.71 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $53.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.96, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.86. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.21 and a 12-month high of $89.05. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $77.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.04). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.89% and a net margin of 6.08%. The company had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication 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 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were paid a $0.5675 dividend. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MET. Barclays reduced their price target on MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.17.

About MetLife

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.