Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA Buys New Stake in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA purchased a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 40,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,361,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MET. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in MetLife by 13.4% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 10,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $876,000 after buying an additional 1,285 shares during the period. Providence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the third quarter worth about $6,649,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of MetLife by 188.1% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 417,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,577,000 after acquiring an additional 272,619 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,176,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,905,000 after acquiring an additional 96,523 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its position in shares of MetLife by 21.9% during the 3rd quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 137,956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,363,000 after acquiring an additional 24,800 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

NYSE:MET opened at $70.51 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $76.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.58. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.21 and a 12 month high of $85.00. The firm has a market cap of $45.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $52.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.43 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.81% and a net margin of 4.38%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.08 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 3rd. MetLife’s payout ratio is 48.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Mizuho set a $100.00 price objective on MetLife in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays set a $90.00 target price on MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Evercore set a $95.00 target price on MetLife in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.18.

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.