Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Buys 10,249 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 9.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 120,760 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,249 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in MetLife were worth $9,696,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of MetLife stock traded up $0.44 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $80.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,643,597 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,375,192. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $78.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.16. The company has a market capitalization of $53.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $65.21 and a one year high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 20.89%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were paid a $0.5675 dividend. This is an increase from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $94.17.

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.