BNP Paribas Acquires 21,213 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

BNP Paribas boosted its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 31,661.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,280 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 21,213 shares during the period. BNP Paribas' holdings in MetLife were worth $1,720,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. CX Institutional boosted its holdings in MetLife by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 68,005 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,568,000 after buying an additional 9,337 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 109.2% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 2,940 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 12,723 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $259,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Up 0.3 %

MetLife stock traded up $0.23 on Friday, hitting $77.82. 2,371,416 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,403,239. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.21 and a 1 year high of $89.05. The firm has a market cap of $52.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $77.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.22.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.04). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. The business had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.06 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.83 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 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 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This is a boost 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. MetLife's payout ratio is presently 36.91%.

MetLife declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MET shares. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective 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. UBS Group raised their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded MetLife from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $92.69.

MetLife Company 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.