Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Has $37.68 Million Stake in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 8.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 532,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,157 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned about 0.08% of MetLife worth $37,677,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in MetLife by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,555,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,727,518,000 after purchasing an additional 7,805,814 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox grew its position in shares of MetLife by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 53,659,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,419,947,000 after acquiring an additional 477,783 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,572,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,035,622,000 after purchasing an additional 180,683 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 11,883,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $938,071,000 after purchasing an additional 2,211,315 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $639,986,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE:MET opened at $86.07 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $82.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.08. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.33 and a fifty-two week high of $89.62. 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 company has a market cap of $55.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.68, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.78.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $14.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 business posted $1.96 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 10 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were given a $0.5925 dividend. 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 yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 12th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MET shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on MetLife from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Evercore set a $96.00 price objective on MetLife in a report on Thursday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on MetLife from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on MetLife from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.62.

MetLife News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting MetLife this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MetLife Stadium is hosting major World Cup activity, including packed matches, celebrity appearances, and heavy media coverage, which keeps the MetLife name in front of a global audience and may support brand awareness. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Local business activity around World Cup events at MetLife Stadium suggests strong demand tied to the venue, reinforcing the stadium’s role as a major event destination and potentially benefiting MetLife’s public profile. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports say fewer people than expected are taking trains and buses to MetLife Stadium for a World Cup match, which may indicate softer-than-hoped transit traffic but does not directly affect MetLife’s insurance business. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Several articles highlight criticism of MetLife Stadium’s turf and field conditions during World Cup play, which could create negative publicity around the MetLife name even though it is tied to the venue rather than the company’s core operations. Article Title

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.