Mizuho Markets Cayman LP Reduces Holdings in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Mizuho Markets Cayman LP lowered its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 71.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 95.4% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased 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 buying an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the second quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MET. Evercore set a $95.00 price objective on MetLife in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Barclays set a $90.00 target price on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Mizuho set a $100.00 price target on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.67.

MetLife Stock Up 1.8%

MET opened at $69.21 on Tuesday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.21 and a 12 month high of $85.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $75.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.76.

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

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.