Arjuna Capital Acquires New Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Arjuna Capital acquired a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 42,114 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,381,000. MetLife accounts for about 0.9% of Arjuna Capital's holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. North Capital Inc. acquired a new position in MetLife in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Motco grew its position in MetLife by 105.5% in the 1st quarter. Motco now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET opened at $77.69 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $78.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $52.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.85. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.21 and a 52-week high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.04). MetLife had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 20.89%. The firm had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. MetLife's quarterly revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be paid a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 5th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MET. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $95.58.

MetLife 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.

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