HB Wealth Management LLC Has $2.87 Million Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. $MET

HB Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 16.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,777 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,865,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $639,986,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in MetLife by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,555,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,727,518,000 after acquiring an additional 7,805,814 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its stake in MetLife by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 11,883,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $938,071,000 after acquiring an additional 2,211,315 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 105.3% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,305,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $271,424,000 after acquiring an additional 1,695,563 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 173.4% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,641,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $135,190,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040,894 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $89.90 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $83.11 and a 200-day moving average of $78.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.33 and a twelve month high of $90.06. The firm has a market cap of $57.84 billion, a PE ratio of 17.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.78.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 22.60%. The business had revenue of $14.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.96 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.5925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 12th. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Mizuho set a $95.00 price target on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Evercore set a $96.00 price objective on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, April 9th. One investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.62.

MetLife 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.