QRG Capital Management Inc. Decreases Holdings in MetLife, Inc. $MET

QRG Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 28.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,679 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,937,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MET. Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 205.8% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 790.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 58.9% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:MET traded up $1.49 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $91.95. The company had a trading volume of 490,338 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,766,801. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.82, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $83.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $67.33 and a one year high of $92.27.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $14.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.49 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 22.60%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.5925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 12th. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 45.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the subject of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Mizuho set a $95.00 price target on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on MetLife from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.46.

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.