Allstate Corp Buys New Holdings in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 20,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,685,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 9.0% in the 4th 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 bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the first quarter worth $307,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 187.6% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 2nd quarter worth $404,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 61.1% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 24,696 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,986,000 after purchasing an additional 9,366 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $75.54 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $49.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.76. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $65.21 and a one year high of $88.09. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $78.69 and its 200-day moving average is $78.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.18.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.07. MetLife had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 21.00%. The firm had revenue of $12.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.95 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MET. Evercore ISI set a $97.00 target price on MetLife and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Mizuho set a $102.00 target price on shares of MetLife in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays set a $90.00 price target on MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and three 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 price target of $95.42.

MetLife Company 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.