Gibbs Wealth Management Buys 7,047 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

Gibbs Wealth Management increased its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 99.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,047 shares during the period. Gibbs Wealth Management’s holdings in MetLife were worth $998,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 205.8% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife by 58.9% in the 4th 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. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management bought a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Prosperity Bancshares Inc purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on MET. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.50.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $94.67 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $87.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.55. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.33 and a 52-week high of $94.86. The company has a market cap of $60.91 billion, a PE ratio of 18.35, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.49 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 22.60%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.96 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.5925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 45.93%.

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.