Norden Group LLC Grows Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Norden Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3,946.1% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 129,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 126,631 shares during the quarter. Norden Group LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $9,623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 73.3% during the 1st quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MET opened at $70.21 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.20. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $56.13 and a fifty-two week high of $74.68. The stock has a market cap of $49.93 billion, a PE ratio of 24.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.11. 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 (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.39% and a net margin of 3.50%. The company had revenue of $17.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

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

MetLife announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on MET shares. Argus raised their target price on MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on MetLife from $88.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.23.

About MetLife

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.