Mizuho Markets Cayman LP Sells 26,734 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

Mizuho Markets Cayman LP lowered its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 71.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 26,734 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP’s holdings in MetLife were worth $870,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in MetLife by 13.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,749,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,333,418,000 after acquiring an additional 7,578,199 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox increased its position in shares of MetLife by 0.9% during the third quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 53,659,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,419,947,000 after purchasing an additional 477,783 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,572,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,035,622,000 after purchasing an additional 180,683 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 9,672,023 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $796,685,000 after purchasing an additional 527,388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 2nd quarter worth $756,104,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE MET opened at $69.35 on Wednesday. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.21 and a 1 year high of $85.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The company has a market capitalization of $45.22 billion, a PE ratio of 14.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a fifty day moving average of $75.71 and a 200 day moving average of $78.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $52.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.43 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.81% and a net margin of 4.38%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.08 EPS. Research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd were given a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 3rd. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on MetLife from $101.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Barclays set a $90.00 price objective on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of MetLife from $91.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.67.

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.