2,846,674 Shares in MetLife, Inc. $MET Acquired by Nykredit A S

Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,846,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $240,857,000. MetLife comprises about 0.8% of Nykredit A S’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Nykredit A S owned 0.44% of MetLife as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Burk Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Prosperity Bancshares Inc acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $96.45 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $93.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.24. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.33 and a 1-year high of $100.93. The company has a market cap of $62.06 billion, a PE ratio of 18.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.77.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.57% and a return on equity of 23.39%. MetLife’s revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.02 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.76 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 4th. MetLife’s payout ratio is 45.40%.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, August 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 4.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MET. Wall Street Zen raised MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on MetLife from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $102.21.

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.