5,379 Shares in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Bought by Novem Group

Novem Group acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 5,379 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $440,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in MetLife by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 37,834 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,098,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,113,108 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $418,661,000 after acquiring an additional 564,383 shares in the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 44.0% in the fourth quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 23,024 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,885,000 after acquiring an additional 7,033 shares during the last quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. increased its position in shares of MetLife by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 8,443 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $691,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in MetLife by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 1,220,896 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $99,967,000 after purchasing an additional 258,445 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target 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. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $94.17.

MetLife Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of MetLife stock traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $77.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,958,693 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,402,763. The stock has a market cap of $51.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve month high of $89.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $76.89 and a 200-day moving average of $81.11.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. Research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding 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 generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be paid a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. This is a boost from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. MetLife's payout ratio is presently 36.91%.

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.