Strategic Blueprint LLC Boosts Holdings in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Strategic Blueprint LLC increased its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 25.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 878 shares during the period. Strategic Blueprint LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. North Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in MetLife in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Motco raised its position in MetLife by 105.5% in the first quarter. Motco now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. GFG Capital LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Abound Wealth Management raised its position in MetLife by 652.3% in the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the period. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in MetLife in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $78.71 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $80.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.40. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.21 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.86.

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

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th will be paid a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 4th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 38.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on MET shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Wolfe Research raised shares of MetLife to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Piper Sandler lowered shares of MetLife from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.18.

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.