Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA Decreases Holdings in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA lowered its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 20.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 36,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,295 shares during the quarter. Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in 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. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 790.0% in the third quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on MET. Evercore set a $96.00 price objective on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.62.

MetLife Stock Down 0.2%

MET opened at $89.90 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $57.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.42, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.34. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.33 and a 52 week high of $90.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.15. MetLife had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 22.60%. The firm had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.5925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 12th. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 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.