Cadence Bank Increases Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Cadence Bank lifted its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the period. Cadence Bank’s holdings in MetLife were worth $912,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.2% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 4,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in MetLife in the third quarter worth approximately $217,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in MetLife by 5.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,209,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $182,208,000 after buying an additional 112,491 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in MetLife by 3.1% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 22,294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,839,000 after buying an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in MetLife by 5.5% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 901,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,343,000 after buying an additional 47,117 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Up 0.6 %

MET stock opened at $88.25 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.89 and a 12-month high of $89.05. The stock has a market cap of $61.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.79, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s 50-day moving average is $83.05 and its 200 day moving average is $76.37.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. MetLife’s payout ratio is 43.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on MET. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $88.62.

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.