Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Takes Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 170,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $14,002,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hilltop Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $223,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 13.9% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 90,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,430,000 after buying an additional 11,000 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its position in MetLife by 3.8% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 8,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $666,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 27.0% in the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $745,000 after buying an additional 1,925 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 199.6% during the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,358,000 after acquiring an additional 10,969 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MET has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.85.

MetLife Stock Down 9.5 %

MET opened at $68.71 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $46.81 billion, a PE ratio of 11.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50-day moving average of $82.41 and a 200-day moving average of $82.96. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.30 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. Equities research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s payout ratio is 36.52%.

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.