MetLife, Inc. $MET Shares Acquired by Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 148,956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,000 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in MetLife were worth $11,759,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in MetLife by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in MetLife in the 1st quarter valued at $307,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in MetLife by 187.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,680,000 after purchasing an additional 21,771 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in MetLife in the 2nd quarter valued at $404,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 2nd quarter worth $444,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $79.90 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $73.15 and a 200 day moving average of $76.51. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.33 and a 12 month high of $83.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.81% and a net margin of 4.38%.The company had revenue of $52.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.43 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.08 EPS. MetLife’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.87 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 paid a $0.5925 dividend. 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 boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MET. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “moderate buy” rating and issued a $87.00 target price on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on MetLife from $93.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Mizuho cut their target price on MetLife from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Bank of America cut their price objective on MetLife from $103.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.38.

MetLife Profile

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.