Point72 Hong Kong Ltd Makes New $1.14 Million Investment in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 13,935 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,141,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 148,692 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,175,000 after buying an additional 17,094 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in MetLife by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 198,275 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $16,235,000 after purchasing an additional 6,853 shares during the last quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. acquired a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $703,000. NorthRock Partners LLC acquired a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $604,000. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp boosted its position in MetLife by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 26,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,136,000 after purchasing an additional 4,254 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of MET stock opened at $80.42 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $76.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.15. The company has a market cap 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.21 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05. 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 (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 analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback 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 generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This is an increase from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on MET. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on MetLife from $109.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Piper Sandler increased 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. UBS Group upped their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $92.69.

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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