Golden State Equity Partners Acquires Shares of 2,487 MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Golden State Equity Partners bought a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 2,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its holdings in MetLife by 374.3% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 177.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its stake in MetLife by 602.5% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 72.6% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Down 5.7 %

Shares of MET stock opened at $78.44 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.89 and a 52-week high of $86.94. The business’s fifty day moving average is $80.50 and its 200 day moving average is $74.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The company has a market capitalization of $54.93 billion, a PE ratio of 21.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. The firm had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be paid a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 5th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on MET. Bank of America lowered their target price on MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.38.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc, a financial services company, provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management services worldwide. It operates through six segments: Retirement and Income Solutions; Group Benefits; Asia; Latin America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and MetLife Holdings. The company offers life, dental, group short-and long-term disability, individual disability, pet insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, vision, and accident and health coverages, as well as prepaid legal plans; administrative services-only arrangements to employers; and general and separate account, and synthetic guaranteed interest contracts, as well as private floating rate funding agreements.