Fifth Third Bancorp Decreases Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp has reduced its holdings in MetLife by 2.5%, owning 126,773 shares valued at approximately $10.2 million after selling 3,219 shares in the second quarter.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on MetLife, with target prices ranging from $84.00 to $103.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• MetLife recently reported earnings of $2.02 EPS, missing estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend with a yield of 2.8%.

Fifth Third Bancorp lowered its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 2.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 126,773 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,219 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in MetLife were worth $10,195,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. North Capital Inc. acquired a new position in MetLife in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Motco increased its position in shares of MetLife by 105.5% during the first quarter. Motco now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 652.3% in the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 489 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in MetLife in the first quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, American National Bank & Trust grew its stake in MetLife by 128.4% during the 1st quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 603 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group cut their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Piper Sandler lowered shares of MetLife from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $94.64.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $80.28 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $53.39 billion, a PE ratio of 13.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.87. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.21 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by ($0.30). The company had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.58 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 19.88%. The business's revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.28 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were given a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.47%.

MetLife Company Profile

MetLife, Inc, a financial services company, provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management services worldwide. It operates through six segments: Retirement and Income Solutions; Group Benefits; Asia; Latin America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and MetLife Holdings. The company offers life, dental, group short-and long-term disability, individual disability, pet insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, vision, and accident and health coverages, as well as prepaid legal plans; administrative services-only arrangements to employers; and general and separate account, and synthetic guaranteed interest contracts, as well as private floating rate funding agreements.

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