6,165 Shares in MetLife, Inc. $MET Acquired by MV Capital Management Inc.

MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $487,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in 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 period. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 790.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 58.9% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Prosperity Bancshares Inc purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting MetLife this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: World Cup coverage is keeping MetLife Stadium in the headlines, including reports that the final will be played there and that the venue is drawing unusually high attention from fans and media. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: There are also logistics-related stories about congestion and commuter concerns around MetLife Stadium during World Cup events, which may matter more to event operations than to MetLife’s core financial performance. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Several players and coaches, including France’s Adrien Rabiot and Didier Deschamps, publicly criticized the MetLife Stadium pitch as hard and poor-quality, raising concerns about the venue’s surface and potentially creating reputational noise around the stadium. Article Title

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MET. Evercore set a $96.00 price target on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $103.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. One investment 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.31.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET opened at $85.76 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $55.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.78. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.33 and a 52-week high of $89.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $80.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.71.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.15. The company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.96 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.5925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.