MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue cut its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 4.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,524 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,800 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in MetLife were worth $5,670,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 678.4% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 287,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,000,000 after purchasing an additional 250,402 shares during the period. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new position in MetLife in the first quarter valued at $7,012,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in MetLife by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,824,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $120,661,000 after purchasing an additional 293,925 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in MetLife by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,664,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $176,304,000 after purchasing an additional 240,564 shares during the period. Finally, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH boosted its holdings in MetLife by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 742,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,088,000 after purchasing an additional 86,091 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MET shares. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on MetLife from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 10th. StockNews.com downgraded MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.23.

MetLife Stock Up 0.2 %

MET opened at $70.21 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $56.13 and a one year high of $74.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.11.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83. The business had revenue of $17.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.73 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.39% and a net margin of 3.50%. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.61 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th were given a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 6th. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. MetLife’s payout ratio is 74.91%.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership 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.