MetLife, Inc. $MET Shares Bought by Wellington Management Group LLP

Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 12,572,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 180,683 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,035,622,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in MetLife during the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife by 95.4% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 564.1% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the period. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $68.00 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.21 and a 1-year high of $85.00. The company has a market capitalization of $44.34 billion, a PE ratio of 14.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The business has a 50-day moving average of $76.20 and a 200-day moving average of $78.37.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.81% and a net margin of 4.38%.The firm had revenue of $52.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.08 earnings per share. MetLife’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd were given a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 3rd. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MET. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Mizuho set a $100.00 price objective on MetLife in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays set a $90.00 price objective on MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on MetLife from $91.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on MetLife from $101.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.67.

MetLife Company Profile

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.