National Pension Service Acquires 29,467 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

National Pension Service lifted its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,329,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,467 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in MetLife were worth $87,939,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. bought a new stake in MetLife during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET traded up $1.00 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $72.66. The company had a trading volume of 1,237,621 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,516,724. The company has a market cap of $51.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.63, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company has a fifty day moving average of $71.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.65. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.95 and a 12-month high of $74.68.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83. The firm had revenue of $17.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.73 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.39% and a net margin of 3.50%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

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

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MET has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on MetLife from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com raised shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.92.

Insider Activity at MetLife

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

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.