Bayforest Capital Ltd Cuts Position in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Bayforest Capital Ltd reduced its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 66.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,792 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,671 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd’s holdings in MetLife were worth $312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MET. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the second quarter valued at about $756,104,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in MetLife by 6.8% in the second quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 9,144,635 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $735,412,000 after buying an additional 585,671 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,624,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $532,749,000 after acquiring an additional 162,041 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 40.2% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 4,507,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $361,265,000 after acquiring an additional 1,292,107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,426,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $355,239,000 after acquiring an additional 80,633 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $78.32 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $51.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.75, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $78.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.01. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.21 and a 12-month high of $88.09.

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

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler downgraded MetLife from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley set a $101.00 target price on shares of MetLife and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Monday, December 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $101.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.08.

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.