5,400 Shares in MetLife, Inc. $MET Purchased by CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd.

CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. bought a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $382,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MET. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 26,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,128,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its position in MetLife by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 10,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $802,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its stake in MetLife by 2.4% during the first quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 5,813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH increased its stake in MetLife by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 30,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,402,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Advisors Inc. raised its position in MetLife by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 4,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Trading Down 0.9%

MET opened at $96.21 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.33 and a 52 week high of $97.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.13. The firm has a market cap of $61.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.78.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 22.60% and a net margin of 4.66%.The firm had revenue of $14.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.96 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.5925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 45.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays upped their price target on MetLife from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $103.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.50.

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.