Mizuho Markets Cayman LP Lowers Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Mizuho Markets Cayman LP decreased its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 71.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 26,734 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP’s holdings in MetLife were worth $870,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in MetLife in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in MetLife by 95.4% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 564.1% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on MET. Evercore set a $95.00 price objective on MetLife in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. 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. Barclays set a $90.00 price target on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.67.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $69.35 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.75, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.21 and a 12 month high of $85.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.81% and a net margin of 4.38%.The firm had revenue of $52.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.08 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 3rd. MetLife’s payout ratio is 48.30%.

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.