National Pension Service Has $87.94 Million Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

National Pension Service grew its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,329,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,467 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.18% of MetLife worth $87,939,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in MetLife by 678.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 287,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,000,000 after buying an additional 250,402 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,824,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $120,661,000 after acquiring an additional 293,925 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,664,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $176,304,000 after acquiring an additional 240,564 shares in the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH lifted its holdings in MetLife by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 742,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,088,000 after purchasing an additional 86,091 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 50.0% during the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 8,856 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 2,952 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MET stock traded up $1.00 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $72.66. 1,237,621 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,516,724. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $71.76 and its 200-day moving average is $67.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.95 and a 52 week high of $74.68. The stock has a market cap of $51.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.03.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.83. MetLife had a net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 20.39%. The business had revenue of $17.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. MetLife’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 71.48%.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.92.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total transaction of $289,469.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total value of $289,469.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total value of $1,951,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.