Cibc World Market Inc. Trims Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Cibc World Market Inc. cut its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,087 shares during the quarter. Cibc World Market Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $3,083,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Providence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth about $6,649,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 117,545 shares during the last quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 24,800 shares during the last quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ grew its position in MetLife by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 187,358 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,433,000 after purchasing an additional 11,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 3rd quarter valued at about $8,091,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of MET stock opened at $84.41 on Tuesday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.33 and a 12 month high of $85.29. The stock has a market cap of $54.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 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. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.07.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.15. MetLife had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 22.60%. The business had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MET. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MetLife from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $91.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.31.

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.