UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Increases Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp raised its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 300 shares during the quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in MetLife were worth $436,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in MetLife during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET stock traded up $0.07 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $71.26. The company had a trading volume of 3,021,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,553,782. The company has a market capitalization of $50.67 billion, a PE ratio of 24.63, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $71.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $48.95 and a one year high of $74.68.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.83. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.39% and a net margin of 3.50%. The company had revenue of $17.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.48%.

MetLife announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on MET. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com upgraded MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at MetLife

In related news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total transaction of $1,951,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,174,893.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other MetLife news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total transaction of $1,951,290.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at $4,174,893.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total transaction of $289,469.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at $10,567,933.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

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.