CIBC Asset Management Inc Boosts Stake in MetLife, Inc. $MET

CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 50.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 148,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 49,807 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in MetLife were worth $11,738,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Trustmark Bank Trust Department grew its position in MetLife by 4.6% during the third quarter. Trustmark Bank Trust Department now owns 2,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 1.0% in the third quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 13,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,146,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 30,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,402,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 4,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in MetLife by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,931 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MET. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.31.

MetLife Price Performance

MetLife stock opened at $84.61 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $77.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.33 and a 52-week high of $85.29. The firm has a market cap of $54.44 billion, a PE ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.78.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $14.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 45.93%.

MetLife Company Profile

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.