MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Stock Holdings Boosted by Unison Advisors LLC

Unison Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 0.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 51,337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 376 shares during the period. Unison Advisors LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $3,603,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 73.3% during the 1st quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MET traded up $0.48 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $70.13. 2,017,964 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,361,339. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $57.91 and a 52-week high of $79.34. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $71.24. The company has a market capitalization of $49.87 billion, a PE ratio of 24.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.11.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. The business had revenue of $17.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.57 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. MetLife’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 3.11%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 74.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MET. Citigroup raised their price objective on MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. StockNews.com upgraded MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on MetLife from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.77.

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.