Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET – Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 59,682 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,050,000.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Strs Ohio increased its holdings in MetLife by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 326,091 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,742,000 after acquiring an additional 46,469 shares during the last quarter. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth $81,494,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 622,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,163,000 after purchasing an additional 13,657 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of MetLife by 1.0% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,905,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $134,770,000 after purchasing an additional 18,151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of MetLife by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,172,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $94,139,000 after purchasing an additional 49,640 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
MET has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on MetLife from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on MetLife from $93.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. TD Cowen increased their target price on MetLife from $87.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.64.
MetLife Stock Up 0.1%
Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $94.44 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.33 and a 12 month high of $100.93. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $92.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.19. The company has a market cap of $60.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.09, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.78.
MetLife (NYSE:MET – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.13. MetLife had a return on equity of 23.39% and a net margin of 4.57%.The company had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current year.
MetLife Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be issued a $0.5925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 45.40%.
MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, August 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 4.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
MetLife Company Profile
MetLife, Inc is a global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. Headquartered in New York City, the company offers a range of risk protection and retirement solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life insurance, group benefits, retirement products such as annuities, and supplemental health products including dental and disability coverage.
In addition to traditional life and group insurance, MetLife provides workplace benefits and voluntary products distributed through employer-sponsored programs.
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