Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 5,286 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 159,441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,286 shares during the quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $13,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 73.3% during the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its stake in MetLife by 602.5% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in MetLife by 72.6% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC grew its stake in MetLife by 114.7% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Down 0.2 %

MetLife stock opened at $85.71 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $57.91 and a one year high of $86.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.95 billion, a PE ratio of 29.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s fifty day moving average is $77.57 and its 200 day moving average is $73.87.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. The company had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. MetLife’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.61 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 5th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 74.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler upped their price target on MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.46.

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.