Gibbs Wealth Management Purchases 7,047 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

Gibbs Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 99.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,047 shares during the quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management’s holdings in MetLife were worth $998,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MET. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in MetLife by 205.8% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in MetLife by 58.9% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Prosperity Bancshares Inc purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MET shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on MetLife from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on MetLife from $87.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho boosted their price target on MetLife from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Bank of America reduced their price target on MetLife from $103.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on MetLife from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.50.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $94.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $87.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.55. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.33 and a fifty-two week high of $94.86. The firm has a market cap of $60.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.78.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 previous year, the firm posted $1.96 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be issued a $0.5925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.