Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET – Free Report) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 148,956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,000 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in MetLife were worth $11,759,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 205.8% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its stake in MetLife by 790.0% during the third quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in MetLife by 58.9% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research firms recently weighed in on MET. Evercore set a $96.00 target price on MetLife in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded MetLife from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America decreased their target price on MetLife from $103.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. UBS Group boosted their target price on MetLife from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “moderate buy” rating and set a $87.00 target price on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.38.
MetLife Trading Up 1.2%
MET opened at $79.90 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $52.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.78. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.33 and a 52 week high of $83.85. The business’s 50 day moving average is $73.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.
MetLife (NYSE:MET – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $52.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.43 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.81% and a net margin of 4.38%.The firm’s revenue was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.87 EPS for the current year.
MetLife Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be issued a $0.5925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.30%.
About MetLife
MetLife, Inc is a global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. Headquartered in New York City, the company offers a range of risk protection and retirement solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life insurance, group benefits, retirement products such as annuities, and supplemental health products including dental and disability coverage.
In addition to traditional life and group insurance, MetLife provides workplace benefits and voluntary products distributed through employer-sponsored programs.
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