Ignite Planners LLC Has $491,000 Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Ignite Planners LLC raised its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 2.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 6,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $491,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. North Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in MetLife in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Motco grew its stake in MetLife by 105.5% in the first quarter. Motco now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. Abound Wealth Management grew its stake in MetLife by 652.3% in the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the period. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in MetLife in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife in the first quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group dropped their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on MetLife from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.18.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $82.02 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $79.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.86. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.21 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by ($0.30). The business had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.58 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 5.83%.The business’s revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.28 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th will be paid a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 4th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 38.47%.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc, a financial services company, provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management services worldwide. It operates through six segments: Retirement and Income Solutions; Group Benefits; Asia; Latin America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and MetLife Holdings. The company offers life, dental, group short-and long-term disability, individual disability, pet insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, vision, and accident and health coverages, as well as prepaid legal plans; administrative services-only arrangements to employers; and general and separate account, and synthetic guaranteed interest contracts, as well as private floating rate funding agreements.