Bank of Nova Scotia Decreases Position in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Bank of Nova Scotia lowered its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 42.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 213,846 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 155,705 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in MetLife were worth $15,124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management increased its position in shares of MetLife by 205.8% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 58.9% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Prosperity Bancshares Inc acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MET. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on MetLife from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on MetLife from $96.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on MetLife from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.50.

MetLife Price Performance

MET stock opened at $94.67 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.33 and a 52-week high of $94.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market cap of $60.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a fifty day moving average of $87.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.55.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $14.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.49 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 22.60% and a net margin of 4.66%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be given a $0.5925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.93%.

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.