MetLife, Inc. $MET Position Decreased by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. lowered its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 60.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,761 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 66,313 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $3,522,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in MetLife by 2.0% in the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $909,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 60,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,942,000 after acquiring an additional 6,569 shares in the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth $1,323,000. Stonegate Investment Group LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife by 10.9% during the third quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 8,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $735,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares during the period. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 19.1% during the third quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $77.04 on Wednesday. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $65.21 and a one year high of $87.39. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $78.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.84. The company has a market capitalization of $50.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.77.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $12.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.64 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.00% and a net margin of 5.30%.The firm’s revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.95 EPS. Analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 42.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on MET shares. Evercore ISI set a $97.00 price objective on MetLife and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $101.00 price objective on shares of MetLife and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on MetLife from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.27.

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.