MetLife, Inc. $MET Shares Purchased by Cornerstone Planning Group LLC

Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1,219.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,219 shares during the quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,088,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $639,986,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,555,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,727,518,000 after purchasing an additional 7,805,814 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 11,883,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $938,071,000 after purchasing an additional 2,211,315 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in MetLife by 105.3% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,305,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $271,424,000 after buying an additional 1,695,563 shares during the period. Finally, Man Group plc increased its stake in MetLife by 325.5% during the 2nd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 1,344,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $108,129,000 after buying an additional 1,028,554 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on MetLife from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on MetLife from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on MetLife from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. 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, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.57.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $93.99 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.33 and a 52 week high of $94.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $85.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.78.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.49 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 22.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.96 EPS. Research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.5925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.93%.

Key MetLife News

Here are the key news stories impacting MetLife this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MetLife Stadium is hosting the World Cup final, which keeps the venue in the global spotlight and may highlight the company’s high-profile asset and brand visibility. FIFA insists MetLife Stadium’s pitch is ready for the World Cup final despite criticism
• Positive Sentiment: Heavy media coverage around ticket sales, fan guides, food and drink pricing, and kickoff details suggests strong interest and traffic around the event at MetLife Stadium. How to buy tickets to see Spain in World Cup Final at MetLife
• Neutral Sentiment: News about weather, heat, storms, air quality, and wildfire smoke could affect the event experience, but it does not directly change MetLife’s earnings outlook. World Cup final could be shaped by heat, storms and air quality at MetLife Stadium
• Neutral Sentiment: FIFA’s criticism of the pitch and the “money grab” controversy may create headline risk for the venue, but the impact on MetLife’s stock is likely limited unless the issue affects operations or reputation more broadly. NJ governor slams FIFA’s money grab over sales of MetLife World Cup pitch
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing criticism about the field quality and pitch conditions at MetLife Stadium could dent the venue’s reputation, even though it is unlikely to materially affect MetLife’s insurance business. The MetLife trap: the controversial pitch threatening the final | OneFootball

MetLife Company Profile

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.