Verity & Verity LLC Buys 4,452 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Verity & Verity LLC grew its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 228,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,452 shares during the period. MetLife makes up about 1.8% of Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $18,852,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MET. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in MetLife during the first quarter worth about $131,456,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 7,837.0% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,129,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,250,000 after buying an additional 1,115,124 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in MetLife by 22.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,396,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $378,799,000 after buying an additional 988,666 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in MetLife by 347.4% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 432,887 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,384,000 after buying an additional 336,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Payden & Rygel Investment Group bought a new position in MetLife during the first quarter valued at approximately $21,907,000. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MET. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Barclays reduced their price objective on MetLife from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on MetLife from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $88.46.

MetLife Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE:MET opened at $83.37 on Tuesday. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $61.85 and a one year high of $86.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.81, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $81.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.71.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.95%.

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.