Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Acquires New Shares in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 10,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $853,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Havemeyer Place LP purchased a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,538,000. 111 Capital purchased a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $317,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in MetLife by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 3,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $880,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in MetLife by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 15,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,216,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET opened at $84.61 on Monday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $54.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.01. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.33 and a 1 year high of $85.29.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $14.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.96 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MET shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on MetLife from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. UBS Group upped their price objective on MetLife from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Mizuho set a $95.00 price objective on MetLife in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded MetLife from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on MetLife from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.31.

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.