Inceptionr LLC Decreases Holdings in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Inceptionr LLC reduced its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 71.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,263 shares during the quarter. Inceptionr LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 2nd quarter worth $756,104,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in MetLife by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,749,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,333,418,000 after buying an additional 7,578,199 shares in the last quarter. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. acquired a new position in MetLife during the 2nd quarter valued at about $178,669,000. Amundi raised its stake in MetLife by 40.2% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 4,507,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $361,265,000 after buying an additional 1,292,107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in MetLife by 173.4% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,641,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $135,190,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040,894 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $68.71 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $76.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.46. The firm has a market cap of $44.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.76. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.21 and a 52 week high of $85.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted 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 net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 21.81%. The company had revenue of $52.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.08 EPS. MetLife’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Barclays set a $90.00 target price on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. TD Cowen cut 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. Evercore set a $95.00 price target on shares of MetLife in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Mizuho set a $100.00 price objective on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.67.

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.