Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA Increases Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA lifted its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 126.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 81,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 45,300 shares during the period. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA’s holdings in MetLife were worth $6,401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in MetLife by 205.8% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC grew its position 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 worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in MetLife by 58.9% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC purchased a new position in MetLife in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Evercore set a $96.00 target price on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Mizuho set a $95.00 target price on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.31.

MetLife Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of MET stock opened at $87.33 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $80.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.58. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.33 and a fifty-two week high of $89.62.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.15. The firm 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.96 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. 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. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 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.