Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Buys 43,157 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 8.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 532,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 43,157 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $37,677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in MetLife by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,555,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,727,518,000 after purchasing an additional 7,805,814 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 0.9% in the third quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 53,659,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,419,947,000 after buying an additional 477,783 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.5% during the third 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 buying an additional 180,683 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 11,883,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $938,071,000 after buying an additional 2,211,315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $639,986,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $86.07 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $82.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.33 and a 12-month high of $89.62.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 22.60% and a net margin of 4.66%.The company had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. MetLife’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 10 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were issued a $0.5925 dividend. This is a boost 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 2.8%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 45.93%.

MetLife News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting MetLife this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MetLife Stadium is hosting major World Cup activity, including packed matches, celebrity appearances, and heavy media coverage, which keeps the MetLife name in front of a global audience and may support brand awareness. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Local business activity around World Cup events at MetLife Stadium suggests strong demand tied to the venue, reinforcing the stadium’s role as a major event destination and potentially benefiting MetLife’s public profile. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports say fewer people than expected are taking trains and buses to MetLife Stadium for a World Cup match, which may indicate softer-than-hoped transit traffic but does not directly affect MetLife’s insurance business. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Several articles highlight criticism of MetLife Stadium’s turf and field conditions during World Cup play, which could create negative publicity around the MetLife name even though it is tied to the venue rather than the company’s core operations. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on MetLife from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings raised MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on MetLife from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.62.

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.