Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Buys 60,785 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 231.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 87,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 60,785 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $6,871,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Providence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in MetLife during the 3rd quarter valued at $6,649,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $96,905,000 after acquiring an additional 96,523 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in MetLife by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,630,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $366,524,000 after acquiring an additional 117,545 shares during the period. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its holdings in 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. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in MetLife by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 393,035 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,374,000 after acquiring an additional 30,200 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Down 0.4%

MET opened at $83.97 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $54.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.27, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.33 and a 12 month high of $85.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $75.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.67.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 22.60% and a net margin of 4.66%.The firm had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MET has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised MetLife from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on MetLife from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Evercore set a $96.00 target price on MetLife in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on MetLife from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on MetLife from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.15.

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.