Empowered Funds LLC Boosts Holdings in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 81.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 93,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 41,951 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $6,618,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 205.8% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in MetLife by 58.9% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management bought a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Prosperity Bancshares Inc purchased a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MET has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on MetLife from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on MetLife from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on MetLife from $96.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.50.

MetLife Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of MET stock opened at $96.21 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.64, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $88.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.13. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.33 and a 1 year high of $97.80. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results 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. MetLife had a return on equity of 22.60% and a net margin of 4.66%.The firm had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.49 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.96 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 45.93%.

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.