Northern Trust Corp Has $577.43 Million Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Northern Trust Corp increased its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 15.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,052,202 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 958,458 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.02% of MetLife worth $577,434,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 33.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 24,663,239 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,019,427,000 after purchasing an additional 6,213,923 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,931,536 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $973,901,000 after buying an additional 158,107 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth about $730,716,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 109.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 4,606,748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,434,737 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $526,869,000 after acquiring an additional 290,734 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on MET shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays cut their price objective on MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.46.

MetLife Stock Performance

MET stock traded up $2.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $77.84. The stock had a trading volume of 3,357,160 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,395,299. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.21 and a 52 week high of $89.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.89.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.04). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. The business had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. MetLife's revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be issued 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 2.92%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.02%.

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

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.