MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV

Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV lessened its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 73,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 576 shares during the quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV’s holdings in MetLife were worth $6,027,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MET. CX Institutional raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 68,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,568,000 after acquiring an additional 9,337 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in MetLife by 109.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $722,727,000 after purchasing an additional 4,606,748 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 13,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 2,940 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 776,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,559,000 after buying an additional 12,723 shares during the period. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter worth about $259,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET stock opened at $80.42 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $53.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.47, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $65.21 and a one year high of $89.05. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $76.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.15.

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

MetLife declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 36.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on MET shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.69.

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.