Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 2.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,679,417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 301,013 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.33% of MetLife worth $707,945,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NEXT Financial Group Inc grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. NEXT Financial Group Inc now owns 10,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $484,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its holdings in MetLife by 62.6% in the fourth quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 31,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,487,000 after purchasing an additional 12,200 shares during the last quarter. IndexIQ Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. IndexIQ Advisors LLC now owns 71,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,372,000 after buying an additional 4,615 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,912,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $136,726,000 after buying an additional 113,886 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp grew its stake in MetLife by 421.6% in the 4th quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 13,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 10,890 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.46% of the company’s stock.
In related news, EVP Marlene Debel sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.58, for a total transaction of $710,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,784,172.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.
Shares of MET stock opened at $63.71 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.33. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $34.82 and a one year high of $67.68. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $64.30.
MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.72. MetLife had a return on equity of 8.75% and a net margin of 2.05%. The business had revenue of $16.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.58 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 7.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 11th were issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 10th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.17%.
Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on MetLife from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 5th. Citigroup boosted their price target on MetLife from $58.00 to $69.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 31st. UBS Group began coverage on MetLife in a research report on Monday, April 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TheStreet cut MetLife from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, May 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.29.
About MetLife
MetLife, Inc, a financial services company, provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management services worldwide. It operates through five segments: U.S.; Asia; Latin America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and MetLife Holdings. The company offers life, dental, group short-and long-term disability, individual disability, accidental death and dismemberment, vision, and accident and health coverages, as well as prepaid legal plans; administrative services-only arrangements to employers; and general and separate account, and synthetic guaranteed interest contracts, as well as private floating rate funding agreements.
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