Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Has $286.69 Million Holdings in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,631,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 369,879 shares during the period. MetLife accounts for about 1.5% of Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $286,693,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MET. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in MetLife during the 1st quarter worth approximately $307,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in MetLife by 187.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,680,000 after buying an additional 21,771 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in MetLife in the second quarter valued at approximately $404,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the second quarter valued at approximately $444,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MET shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MetLife from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on MetLife from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Evercore set a $96.00 price target on MetLife in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on MetLife from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.15.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET opened at $84.29 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.33 and a 12 month high of $84.38. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.34, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $14.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.96 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.5925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.93%.

MetLife 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.