Woodline Partners LP Purchases 258,445 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 26.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,220,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 258,445 shares during the period. MetLife makes up approximately 0.7% of Woodline Partners LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Woodline Partners LP owned approximately 0.18% of MetLife worth $99,967,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CX Institutional lifted its stake in MetLife by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 68,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,568,000 after purchasing an additional 9,337 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 109.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 4,606,748 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised 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 valued at $1,116,000 after acquiring an additional 2,940 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 776,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,559,000 after acquiring an additional 12,723 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $259,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET stock opened at $80.87 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $77.07 and its 200 day moving average is $81.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.21 and a 52-week high of $89.05. The firm has a market cap of $54.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.55, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released 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 return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. The firm had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. MetLife’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be issued a $0.5675 dividend. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 36.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.08.

About MetLife

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.