MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Holdings Lifted by Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC

Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 28.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,358 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,611 shares during the period. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $516,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MET. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $558,460,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,622,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,418,612,000 after buying an additional 1,974,268 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the first quarter valued at $131,456,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in MetLife by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,053,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $268,090,000 after purchasing an additional 700,788 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in MetLife by 29.7% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,120,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $157,133,000 after purchasing an additional 485,811 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $74.34. 2,629,905 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,365,335. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $72.20 and its 200 day moving average is $71.47. The stock has a market cap of $52.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $57.91 and a 1-year high of $79.34.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.15. MetLife had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The firm had revenue of $17.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 74.91%.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.00.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc, a financial services company, provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management services worldwide. It operates through six segments: Retirement and Income Solutions; Group Benefits; Asia; Latin America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and MetLife Holdings. The company offers life, dental, group short-and long-term disability, individual disability, pet insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, vision, and accident and health coverages, as well as prepaid legal plans; administrative services-only arrangements to employers; and general and separate account, and synthetic guaranteed interest contracts, as well as private floating rate funding agreements.