Evolve Private Wealth LLC Invests $3.18 Million in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Evolve Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 40,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,181,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in MetLife by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,630,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $366,524,000 after acquiring an additional 117,545 shares in the last quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ increased its position in shares of MetLife by 6.5% during the third quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 187,358 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,433,000 after purchasing an additional 11,469 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 326,091 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,742,000 after purchasing an additional 46,469 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 3rd quarter valued at about $8,091,000. Finally, AIA Group Ltd grew its stake in MetLife by 93.5% during the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 33,714 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,777,000 after buying an additional 16,288 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MET. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on MetLife from $103.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.31.

More MetLife News

Here are the key news stories impacting MetLife this week:

• Negative Sentiment: France’s coach and players criticized the MetLife Stadium turf, with repeated comparisons to a hard surface and renewed questions about whether the pitch is suitable for elite soccer. This keeps attention on operational issues at the venue and may pressure sentiment around the MetLife brand. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Additional reports highlight backlash over the stadium’s surface, including comments from Adrien Rabiot and other observers, reinforcing concerns that the field conditions could draw more negative publicity as the tournament continues. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Travel and commuter headaches around World Cup matches at MetLife Stadium were also reported, including congestion and concerns about unsold train tickets, adding another layer of operational criticism tied to the venue. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage noted that NJ Transit received mixed to positive feedback from parts of the crowd, suggesting the transportation situation may be manageable despite earlier concerns. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The World Cup final being scheduled at MetLife Stadium keeps the venue in the global spotlight, but the headline itself is not directly related to MetLife’s insurance operations or near-term fundamentals. Article Title

MetLife Trading Down 1.6%

NYSE MET opened at $85.96 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.78. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.33 and a 52-week high of $89.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $80.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.65.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $14.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.49 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 22.60% and a net margin of 4.66%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.96 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.98 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 12th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.93%.

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.