MetLife, Inc. $MET Stock Position Lowered by O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lessened its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,097,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 77,103 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $86,622,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,555,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,727,518,000 after acquiring an additional 7,805,814 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox increased its stake in MetLife by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 53,659,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,419,947,000 after buying an additional 477,783 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in MetLife by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,572,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,035,622,000 after buying an additional 180,683 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its stake in MetLife by 22.9% in the 4th 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 period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $639,986,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET opened at $84.61 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $77.84 and its 200-day moving average is $77.01. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.33 and a 12 month high of $85.29. The firm has a market cap of $54.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.78. 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 announced 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. MetLife had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 22.60%. The company had revenue of $14.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.96 EPS. MetLife’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.5925 per share. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on MET shares. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MetLife from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $103.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.31.

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.