MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Stake Raised by SVB Wealth LLC

SVB Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $750,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 678.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 287,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,000,000 after acquiring an additional 250,402 shares during the period. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new stake in MetLife during the 1st quarter worth about $7,012,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in MetLife by 54.9% during the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 371,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,983,000 after acquiring an additional 131,538 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in MetLife by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,005,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $132,641,000 after acquiring an additional 35,782 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife during the 1st quarter worth about $1,053,000. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Argus lifted their price target on MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.08.

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE MET traded down $0.50 during trading on Monday, hitting $75.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,898,900 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,319,064. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $71.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.02. The firm has a market cap of $53.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.11. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $57.91 and a 52 week high of $76.90.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.83. The company had revenue of $17.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.73 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.39% and a net margin of 3.50%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.91%.

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.