Estate Counselors LLC Makes New Investment in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Key Points

• Estate Counselors LLC purchased 24,750 MetLife shares worth approximately $1.75 million, while institutional investors collectively own 94.99% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $100.50; several firms recently raised their targets.
• MetLife reported quarterly earnings of $2.42 per share, exceeding estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5925, equivalent to an annualized yield of about 2.5%.

Estate Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 24,750 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,750,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in MetLife by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,240 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the first quarter valued at about $307,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 187.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,378 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,680,000 after acquiring an additional 21,771 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $404,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $444,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Mizuho raised their price target on MetLife from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays increased their target price on MetLife from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Weiss Ratings raised MetLife from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $100.50.

MetLife Price Performance

MetLife stock opened at $95.21 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.64. The stock has a market cap of $61.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.78. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.33 and a 12-month high of $96.00.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 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 analyst estimates of $19.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.96 earnings per share. MetLife's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.