MetLife, Inc. $MET Stake Increased by Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 118.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 183,585 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 99,706 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in MetLife were worth $12,983,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 205.8% during the fourth 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 increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management acquired a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Prosperity Bancshares Inc bought a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore set a $96.00 price target on MetLife in a report on Thursday, April 9th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. One investment 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, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.50.

MetLife Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $95.21 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $61.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.78. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.33 and a 12-month high of $96.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $87.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.64.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $14.18 billion during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.89 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

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