Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Boosts Stake in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ raised its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 6.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 187,358 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,469 shares during the quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ’s holdings in MetLife were worth $15,433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MET. Intrust Bank NA boosted its holdings in MetLife by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 33,682 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,774,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares during the period. Tredje AP fonden boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 9.6% in the third quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 455,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,535,000 after purchasing an additional 40,000 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 9.5% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 20,043 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,651,000 after purchasing an additional 1,744 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $205,000. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in MetLife by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 9,672,023 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $796,685,000 after buying an additional 527,388 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MET shares. Mizuho set a $100.00 price objective on MetLife in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays set a $90.00 price target on MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $101.00 price objective on MetLife and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MetLife from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $95.27.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $79.05 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.54 billion, a PE ratio of 16.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.77. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.21 and a fifty-two week high of $87.39.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.15. MetLife had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 21.81%. The company had revenue of $52.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 3rd. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.30%.

MetLife Company Profile

MetLife, Inc is a global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. Headquartered in New York City, the company offers a range of risk protection and retirement solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life insurance, group benefits, retirement products such as annuities, and supplemental health products including dental and disability coverage.

In addition to traditional life and group insurance, MetLife provides workplace benefits and voluntary products distributed through employer-sponsored programs.