Keybank National Association OH Boosts Holdings in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Keybank National Association OH raised its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 8.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 75,695 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,841 shares during the quarter. Keybank National Association OH’s holdings in MetLife were worth $5,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 205.8% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its stake in MetLife by 790.0% in the third quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 58.9% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on MET. Weiss Ratings upgraded MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on MetLife from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on MetLife from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on MetLife from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.62.

MetLife Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of MET stock opened at $89.90 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.34. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.33 and a 1 year high of $90.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $14.18 billion during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.96 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.98 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This is a positive change 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 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.