MetLife, Inc. $MET Shares Bought by Valley Wealth Managers Inc.

Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 300,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,567 shares during the period. MetLife comprises about 1.5% of Valley Wealth Managers Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Valley Wealth Managers Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $23,704,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $223,000. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs now owns 23,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,861,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 2,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 80,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,358,000 after purchasing an additional 6,698 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 2,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $77.93 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $50.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.10, a PEG ratio of 0.69 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.33 and a 52-week high of $83.85. The business’s 50 day moving average is $73.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.52.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $14.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.49 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 22.60% and a net margin of 4.66%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.96 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.89 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be given 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America lowered their target price on MetLife from $103.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on MetLife from $93.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded MetLife from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on MetLife from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.85.

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.