Swedbank AB Increases Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Swedbank AB boosted its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 5.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,870,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 97,035 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.26% of MetLife worth $131,314,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 27.2% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 24,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,602,000 after buying an additional 5,178 shares during the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 4,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $265,000 after acquiring an additional 615 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth about $2,486,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of MetLife by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,674,306 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $110,722,000 after acquiring an additional 87,449 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Argus raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.85.

MetLife Trading Up 1.8 %

MetLife stock traded up $1.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $73.05. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,705,166 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,384,184. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $57.91 and a 1 year high of $79.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.95 billion, a PE ratio of 24.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $71.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.24.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $17.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current year.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.91%.

MetLife 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.