ExodusPoint Capital Management LP Takes $21.37 Million Position in MetLife, Inc. $MET

ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 270,683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $21,368,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Trustmark Bank Trust Department grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.6% in the 3rd 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. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 26,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,128,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 10,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $802,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 30,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,402,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgewater Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 4,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Down 0.4%

MET opened at $87.33 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.78. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.33 and a 12 month high of $89.62. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $80.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.58. 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 (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $14.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.49 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 22.60%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 45.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $91.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Barclays boosted 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 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Mizuho set a $95.00 price objective on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $96.00 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 assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.