MetLife, Inc. $MET Shares Purchased by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 200.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 120,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 80,490 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $9,526,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Trustmark Bank Trust Department raised its holdings in MetLife by 4.6% in the third quarter. Trustmark Bank Trust Department now owns 2,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $236,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in MetLife by 4.9% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in MetLife by 1.9% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 7,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $580,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in MetLife by 1.0% during the third quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 13,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,146,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH raised its holdings in MetLife by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 30,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,402,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET opened at $84.29 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market cap of $54.23 billion, a PE ratio of 16.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.62. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.33 and a 12-month high of $84.38.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.15. The business 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.92 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be given a $0.5925 dividend. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on MET shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MetLife from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.