Aprio Wealth Management LLC Raises Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Aprio Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 19.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 689 shares during the quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $346,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BOKF NA raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 117.8% in the 2nd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 7,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $519,000 after purchasing an additional 3,997 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in MetLife by 3.4% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 28,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,009,000 after buying an additional 954 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in MetLife by 2.4% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 115,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,088,000 after buying an additional 2,749 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in MetLife by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 98,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,884,000 after acquiring an additional 14,233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,224,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $226,358,000 after acquiring an additional 100,782 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MET shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on MetLife from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.00.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $81.94 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $83.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.11. The company has a market cap of $56.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.52, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $64.61 and a one year high of $89.05.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.