Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators Increases Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 28.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,420 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings in MetLife were worth $526,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in MetLife by 3.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,622,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,418,612,000 after acquiring an additional 1,974,268 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the first quarter worth about $131,456,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 7,837.0% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,129,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,250,000 after buying an additional 1,115,124 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in MetLife by 22.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,396,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $378,799,000 after acquiring an additional 988,666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in MetLife by 29.7% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,120,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $157,133,000 after acquiring an additional 485,811 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of MetLife from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.46.

MetLife Price Performance

MetLife stock opened at $83.25 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $57.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.78, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.05. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.89 and a 1 year high of $86.94. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $80.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.09.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 43.95%.

MetLife 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.