MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Bought by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 115,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,749 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $8,088,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 73.3% in the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 602.5% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 72.6% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Argus raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.54.

MetLife Stock Up 1.2 %

MET stock opened at $78.29 on Wednesday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.91 and a 12-month high of $79.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $55.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.90, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50 day moving average of $74.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.43.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.15. MetLife had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The company had revenue of $17.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were given a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 74.91%.

About MetLife

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.