PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab Acquires New Shares in MetLife, Inc. $MET

PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:METFree Report) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 1,021,488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $81,494,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in MetLife by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in MetLife in the 1st quarter worth $307,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in MetLife by 187.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,680,000 after acquiring an additional 21,771 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in MetLife in the 2nd quarter worth $404,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in MetLife in the 2nd quarter worth $444,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of MetLife from $103.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of MetLife from $91.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $89.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.38.

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MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE:MET opened at $80.29 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $73.14 and its 200-day moving average is $76.60. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.33 and a 52-week high of $83.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20. The company has a market cap of $52.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.08, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.78.

MetLife (NYSE:METGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.15. MetLife had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 21.81%. The company had revenue of $52.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.08 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.85 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 48.30%.

MetLife Company Profile

(Free Report)

MetLife, Inc is a global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. Headquartered in New York City, the company offers a range of risk protection and retirement solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life insurance, group benefits, retirement products such as annuities, and supplemental health products including dental and disability coverage.

In addition to traditional life and group insurance, MetLife provides workplace benefits and voluntary products distributed through employer-sponsored programs.

Further Reading

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for MetLife (NYSE:MET)

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