Bessemer Group Inc. Boosts Position in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Key Points

• Bessemer Group Inc. increased its MetLife stake by 1.0% in the first quarter, holding about 1.91 million shares valued at roughly $134.8 million at quarter-end.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding 94.99% of MetLife shares, and several other firms also recently adding to positions.
• Analysts remain constructive on MetLife: recent price-target hikes from Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, and Jefferies helped keep the stock at a Moderate Buy consensus with a target price of $98.57.

Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,905,684 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 18,151 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned approximately 0.29% of MetLife worth $134,770,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,630,165 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $366,524,000 after acquiring an additional 117,545 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 93.5% in the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 33,714 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,777,000 after acquiring an additional 16,288 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 326,091 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,742,000 after buying an additional 46,469 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 195.8% during the 4th quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 33,260 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,626,000 after purchasing an additional 22,016 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth $81,494,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key MetLife News

Here are the key news stories impacting MetLife this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MetLife Stadium is hosting the World Cup final, which keeps the venue in the global spotlight and may highlight the company’s high-profile asset and brand visibility. FIFA insists MetLife Stadium’s pitch is ready for the World Cup final despite criticism
• Positive Sentiment: Heavy media coverage around ticket sales, fan guides, food and drink pricing, and kickoff details suggests strong interest and traffic around the event at MetLife Stadium. How to buy tickets to see Spain in World Cup Final at MetLife
• Neutral Sentiment: News about weather, heat, storms, air quality, and wildfire smoke could affect the event experience, but it does not directly change MetLife’s earnings outlook. World Cup final could be shaped by heat, storms and air quality at MetLife Stadium
• Neutral Sentiment: FIFA’s criticism of the pitch and the “money grab” controversy may create headline risk for the venue, but the impact on MetLife’s stock is likely limited unless the issue affects operations or reputation more broadly. NJ governor slams FIFA’s money grab over sales of MetLife World Cup pitch
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing criticism about the field quality and pitch conditions at MetLife Stadium could dent the venue’s reputation, even though it is unlikely to materially affect MetLife’s insurance business. The MetLife trap: the controversial pitch threatening the final | OneFootball

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings raised MetLife from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Evercore set a $96.00 target price on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on MetLife from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $98.57.

MetLife Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $93.99 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average is $85.80 and its 200-day moving average is $79.07. The stock has a market cap of $60.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.78. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.33 and a twelve month high of $94.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.49 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 22.60%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.96 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be issued a $0.5925 dividend. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.

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