MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Man Group plc

Man Group plc lessened its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 68.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 282,752 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 613,820 shares during the period. Man Group plc's holdings in MetLife were worth $23,152,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CX Institutional increased its position in shares of MetLife by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 68,005 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,568,000 after purchasing an additional 9,337 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in MetLife by 109.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $722,727,000 after purchasing an additional 4,606,748 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 13,692 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 2,940 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 776,244 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $63,559,000 after buying an additional 12,723 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at about $259,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MET has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $92.69.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET opened at $80.42 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.21 and a 52-week high of $89.05. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.15. The company has a market capitalization of $53.99 billion, a PE ratio of 13.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85.

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 firm had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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 $0.5675 dividend. This is an increase from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.91%.

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.

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