Vicus Capital Boosts Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Vicus Capital raised its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 14.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 377 shares during the period. Vicus Capital’s holdings in MetLife were worth $243,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MET. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. increased its stake in MetLife by 118,328.6% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 8,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $665,000 after purchasing an additional 8,283 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 26.6% during the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 27,026 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,170,000 after buying an additional 5,682 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 11,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $957,000 after buying an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chesley Taft & Associates LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 19,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,528,000 after buying an additional 1,180 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on MetLife from $98.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Barclays raised their price target on MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $97.00 price objective (up previously from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.64.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET stock opened at $81.34 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.21 and a 52-week high of $89.05. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $79.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.09 billion, a PE ratio of 13.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.86.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.30). MetLife had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 19.88%. The company had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.47%.

MetLife Company Profile

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.