Cresset Asset Management LLC Has $1.71 Million Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Cresset Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 59.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 20,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 30,869 shares during the quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,713,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CX Institutional lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 68,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,568,000 after buying an additional 9,337 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in MetLife by 109.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $722,727,000 after purchasing an additional 4,606,748 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in MetLife by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 13,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 2,940 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 776,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,559,000 after purchasing an additional 12,723 shares during the period. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at about $259,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

MET opened at $77.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.22. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $65.21 and a one year high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. The company’s revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 36.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MET shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $109.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.69.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc, a financial services company, provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management services worldwide. It operates through six segments: Retirement and Income Solutions; Group Benefits; 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, pet insurance, 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.