Man Group plc Increases Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Man Group plc lifted its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 151.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,596,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 961,641 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc’s holdings in MetLife were worth $126,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 205.8% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 790.0% in the third quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 58.9% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Prosperity Bancshares Inc bought a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new position in MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MET has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen dropped their price objective 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 lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on MetLife from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Evercore set a $96.00 price objective on MetLife in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.31.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $85.96 on Thursday. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.33 and a twelve month high of $89.62. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $80.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.65. The stock has a market cap 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 (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.49 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 22.60% and a net margin of 4.66%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.96 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.98 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were paid a $0.5925 dividend. 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. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 45.93%.

Trending Headlines about MetLife

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

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.