Czech National Bank Acquires 6,860 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 132,970 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,860 shares during the period. Czech National Bank's holdings in MetLife were worth $10,676,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group boosted their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler raised 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. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $94.17.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MetLife stock traded up $0.69 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $79.37. 3,114,439 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,397,768. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $53.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.30, a PEG ratio of 0.65 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 (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 company had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This is an increase from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.91%.

MetLife announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.