Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Increases Holdings in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 61.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 49,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,019 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in MetLife were worth $3,518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $639,986,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,555,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,727,518,000 after purchasing an additional 7,805,814 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in MetLife by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 11,883,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $938,071,000 after purchasing an additional 2,211,315 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 105.3% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,305,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $271,424,000 after purchasing an additional 1,695,563 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in MetLife by 173.4% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,641,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $135,190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040,894 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting MetLife this week:

• Negative Sentiment: World Cup coverage has highlighted complaints from players about the turf at MetLife Stadium, with some praising other venues and “trashing MetLife,” reinforcing criticism of the stadium’s field conditions. World Cup players split on turf, praising SoFi while trashing MetLife
• Negative Sentiment: Additional reports said NFL players blasted the MetLife turf, keeping the criticism of the stadium in the spotlight and potentially weighing on brand perception. NFL players blast MetLife turf as World Cup grass fuels debate
• Neutral Sentiment: There were also upbeat event-related headlines, including fans packing MetLife Stadium for World Cup matches and excitement around high-profile games, which supports strong attendance and traffic but does not directly change MetLife’s fundamentals. Ecuador, Germany fans pack MetLife for World Cup group match
• Neutral Sentiment: MetLife also had corporate visibility from a new study on resilience and confidence, plus coverage of its broader “confident futures” initiative, but these are mainly brand/PR updates rather than clear near-term stock movers. New MetLife Study Reveals a 72% “Confidence Gap” in Ability to Recover from Life’s Setbacks
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports about ticket prices, offsite tailgates, weather delays, and player arrivals at MetLife Stadium are mostly event noise and do not materially affect the insurer’s core business. What do tickets cost for the England vs. Panama World Cup match at MetLife?

MetLife Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $84.51 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a market cap of $54.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.78. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.33 and a 52 week high of $89.62. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.02.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. MetLife had a return on equity of 22.60% and a net margin of 4.66%.The firm had revenue of $14.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 12th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Bank of America cut their price target on MetLife from $103.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on MetLife from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.62.

MetLife 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.