Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Grows Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,190,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,957 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.18% of MetLife worth $93,972,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Providence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $6,649,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of MetLife by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,630,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $366,524,000 after purchasing an additional 117,545 shares during the last quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its position in shares of MetLife by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 137,956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,363,000 after purchasing an additional 24,800 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in shares of MetLife by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 393,035 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,374,000 after purchasing an additional 30,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ raised its position in shares of MetLife by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 187,358 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,433,000 after purchasing an additional 11,469 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MetLife from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target 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 analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.15.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $79.79 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.46, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.78. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.33 and a 12 month high of $83.85. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $14.18 billion for 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 business’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.96 EPS. Analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.92 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 45.93%.

About MetLife

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.