MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Man Group plc

Man Group plc cut its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 68.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 282,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 613,820 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc’s holdings in MetLife were worth $23,152,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $895,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. grew its position in MetLife by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $978,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 2,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Davis R M Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on MetLife from $109.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.69.

MetLife Stock Up 0.6%

MET opened at $80.42 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $53.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $76.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.15. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve month high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.04). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. The business had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.91%.

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.