MetLife, Inc. $MET Shares Bought by Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC

Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 144,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,424 shares during the period. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $11,893,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Quaker Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 198.2% in the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares during the period. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in MetLife in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. MTM Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. GFG Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management raised its position in shares of MetLife by 652.3% during the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MET shares. Barclays increased their price objective on MetLife from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group cut their price objective on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Monday, December 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $101.00 price target on shares of MetLife and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.55.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $81.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a 50-day moving average of $78.50 and a 200 day moving average of $78.88. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.21 and a 12 month high of $88.09.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $12.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.64 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 21.00%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.95 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th were given a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.75%.

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.