372,000 Shares in MetLife, Inc. $MET Purchased by Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab

Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 372,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $30,642,000. Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab owned 0.06% of MetLife as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,585 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Trustmark Bank Trust Department boosted its stake in MetLife by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Trustmark Bank Trust Department now owns 2,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in MetLife by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 7,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $580,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MET. Evercore set a $95.00 target price on MetLife in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Mizuho set a $100.00 price objective on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.67.

MetLife Stock Performance

MET opened at $69.35 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.21 and a 52-week high of $85.00. The firm has a market cap of $45.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.76. The business’s fifty day moving average is $75.71 and its 200-day moving average is $78.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $52.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.43 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 21.81%. MetLife’s revenue was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 3rd. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 48.30%.

MetLife 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.