Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Has $13.55 Million Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Key Points

• Fjarde AP Fonden nearly doubled its MetLife stake in the first quarter, increasing holdings by 99.6% to 191,665 shares worth about $13.55 million.
• MetLife reported Q1 earnings of $2.42 per share, beating expectations, while revenue rose 2.7% year over year to $14.18 billion.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.5925 per share, implying an annualized yield of 2.6%, and analysts currently have a Moderate Buy consensus with a $95.62 average price target.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 99.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 191,665 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 95,650 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in MetLife were worth $13,555,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in MetLife by 73.0% during the first quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,764 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,044,000 after acquiring an additional 6,228 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 8.4% in the first quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 75,695 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,353,000 after acquiring an additional 5,841 shares in the last quarter. Seamount Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the first quarter worth about $250,000. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife by 26.1% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,238 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the period. Finally, USS Investment Management Ltd raised its position in shares of MetLife by 2.6% during the first quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 87,145 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,162,000 after purchasing an additional 2,244 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Price Performance

NYSE:MET opened at $89.90 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.33 and a 52-week high of $90.06. The company has a market cap of $57.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $83.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.34.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.15. MetLife had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 22.60%. The business had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.49 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.96 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. This is a positive change from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 12th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of MetLife from $103.00 to $99.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of MetLife from $91.00 to $88.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Mizuho set a $95.00 price objective on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $95.62.

About MetLife

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.

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