Bank of Stockton Takes $432,000 Position in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Bank of Stockton acquired a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $432,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 26,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,128,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 10,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $802,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 2.4% in the first quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 5,813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $411,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH boosted its stake in 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 valued at $2,402,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Advisors Inc. increased its stake in MetLife by 3.5% in the 4th 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. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MET shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on MetLife from $93.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.46.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $91.76 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.43. The company has a market capitalization of $59.04 billion, a PE ratio of 17.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.78. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $67.33 and a one year high of $92.27. 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 (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. MetLife had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 22.60%. The company had revenue of $14.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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. Research analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were paid a $0.5925 dividend. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 12th. MetLife’s payout ratio is 45.93%.

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.