MetLife, Inc. $MET Holdings Cut by Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 167,721 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,625 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $13,271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MET. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 1st quarter worth $307,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 187.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,680,000 after purchasing an additional 21,771 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 2nd quarter worth $404,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 2nd quarter worth $444,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE MET opened at $82.47 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s fifty day moving average is $74.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.59. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.33 and a 52-week high of $83.85.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $14.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.49 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 22.60%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.96 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.92 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be given a $0.5925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MET has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen dropped 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MetLife from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Mizuho set a $95.00 target price on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.15.

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.