Tidal Investments LLC Buys 4,389 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 22.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,671 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,389 shares during the quarter. Tidal Investments LLC's holdings in MetLife were worth $1,938,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the subject of several research reports. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group upped their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $94.17.

MetLife Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of MET stock traded up $0.30 on Thursday, hitting $78.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,067,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,390,160. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.21 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $76.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. The firm's revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. This is a positive change from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.91%.

MetLife announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership 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.