IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Grows Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd boosted its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 151,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,387 shares during the period. MetLife makes up about 1.3% of IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s holdings in MetLife were worth $12,468,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $7,012,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 54.9% during the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 371,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,983,000 after purchasing an additional 131,538 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 1st quarter worth $1,053,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2,313.7% in the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 104,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,772,000 after purchasing an additional 100,532 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 38.3% in the first quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 30,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,258,000 after purchasing an additional 8,440 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, 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 $85.18 on Thursday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.91 and a 12-month high of $86.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $77.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.15. MetLife had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The company had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.57 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.61 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.91%.

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.