MBL Wealth LLC Makes New Investment in MetLife, Inc. $MET

MBL Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $578,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CX Institutional raised its position in shares of MetLife by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 8,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $817,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Investment Research Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Investment Research Partners LLC now owns 3,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 0.6% during the third quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 22,391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,108,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 0.3% during the second quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 38,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,238,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 4.4% during the third quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 3,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler upgraded MetLife from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $110.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Argus raised their price objective on MetLife from $93.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, September 27th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.44.

MetLife Price Performance

MET stock opened at $98.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $97.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $89.81. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.33 and a 52-week high of $103.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.94, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.78.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.13. MetLife had a return on equity of 23.39% and a net margin of 4.57%. The company had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, August 5th that authorizes the company to buy back $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 4.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Share repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.5925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 3rd. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 45.40%.

MetLife Company Profile

MetLife, Inc (NYSE: MET) is a global financial services company that provides insurance, retirement, and employee benefits solutions to individuals, employers, and institutions. Its offerings include life insurance, dental and vision coverage, accident and disability insurance, annuities, retirement savings products, and related financial services.

Through its institutional and workplace businesses, MetLife helps employers provide benefits and retirement programs to their employees. The company also serves individual customers with protection and income products.