Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Buys 7,396 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 73,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,396 shares during the quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in MetLife were worth $6,082,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC raised its stake in MetLife by 790.0% in the third quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 95.4% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its position 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 worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Down 0.1%

MET stock opened at $68.52 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve month high of $85.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $44.68 billion, a PE ratio of 14.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a 50 day moving average of $75.07 and a 200 day moving average of $77.92.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.81% and a net margin of 4.38%.The business had revenue of $52.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on MET. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on MetLife from $97.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings downgraded MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Evercore set a $95.00 price objective on MetLife in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of MetLife from $91.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.67.

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.