Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Increases Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 42.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,403 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd’s holdings in MetLife were worth $389,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MET. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.85.

MetLife Stock Down 9.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $68.71 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $46.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.96. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.10 and a 52-week high of $89.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

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.