LSV Asset Management Has $134.45 Million Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. $MET

LSV Asset Management cut its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 2.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,632,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 44,800 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned approximately 0.25% of MetLife worth $134,453,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Quaker Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife by 198.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 672 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 95.4% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 564.1% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in MetLife in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the second quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Down 2.0%

MET stock opened at $77.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.77. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.21 and a fifty-two week high of $87.39. The business has a 50-day moving average of $78.94 and a 200-day moving average of $78.80.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.24. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.81% and a net margin of 4.38%.The firm had revenue of $18.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.08 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $101.00 price objective on MetLife and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Evercore set a $97.00 target price on MetLife and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $95.00 target price on shares of MetLife in a report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.42.

MetLife Company 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.