Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Lowers Position in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 2.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,001,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 97,215 shares during the quarter. MetLife comprises 1.6% of Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $329,617,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 10,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $876,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in MetLife by 188.1% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 417,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,577,000 after purchasing an additional 272,619 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in MetLife by 8.9% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,176,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,905,000 after purchasing an additional 96,523 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in MetLife by 256.8% during the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 62,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,161,000 after purchasing an additional 45,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 393,035 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,374,000 after buying an additional 30,200 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Key MetLife News

Here are the key news stories impacting MetLife this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 adjusted EPS beat consensus and operating performance showed strength — MetLife reported stronger-than-expected adjusted earnings driven by higher volumes across key units. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Management set multi-year targets: double‑digit adjusted EPS growth and a $25B free cash flow objective under the New Frontier strategy — investors see this as a credible roadmap for capital returns and earnings growth. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Investment returns and segment mix helped results — strong performance in Asia, Group Benefits and Retirement & Income Solutions (RIS) provided earnings tailwinds. Management highlighted these as engines of record EPS growth. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst reaction is largely supportive — recent notes and analyst commentary following the release show constructive views on the beat and the strategy outlook. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Full call materials and transcripts are available for review — investors can dig into prepared remarks and the full Q&A for details on assumptions and risks. Read More. | Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Management flagged macro labor dynamics — CFO Drew Matus commented there’s “no demand for labor,” a macro observation that could temper wage-driven premium growth but is not an immediate company‑specific headwind. Read More. | Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue missed some estimates and there were one‑off headwinds (Mexico VAT impact) that trimmed top‑line — this explains some caution beneath the beat and is a factor to watch in next-quarter guidance. Read More. | Read More.

MetLife Price Performance

MetLife stock opened at $76.61 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.48 billion, a PE ratio of 16.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.77. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.21 and a 52 week high of $87.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

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

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be paid 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 3.0%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MET shares. Barclays set a $90.00 price objective on MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Evercore set a $97.00 price target on MetLife and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings cut MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Mizuho set a $102.00 target price on shares of MetLife in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Two investment 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, MetLife has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.64.

About MetLife

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.