Edgestream Partners L.P. Boosts Holdings in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3,709.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 101,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 98,736 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $7,171,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MET. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth about $639,986,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,555,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,727,518,000 after buying an additional 7,805,814 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 11,883,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $938,071,000 after buying an additional 2,211,315 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 133.5% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,098,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $219,136,000 after buying an additional 1,771,689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 105.3% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,305,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $271,424,000 after buying an additional 1,695,563 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $97.17 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $88.43 and its 200 day moving average is $80.02. The stock has a market cap of $62.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.78. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.33 and a 52-week high of $97.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 22.60% and a net margin of 4.66%.The business had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.96 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.89 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be paid a $0.5925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 45.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MET. Bank of America dropped their price objective on MetLife from $103.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on MetLife from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on MetLife from $87.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.50.

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.