MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Holdings Lowered by Bokf Na

Bokf Na cut its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,395 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 348 shares during the period. Bokf Na’s holdings in MetLife were worth $513,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $730,716,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in MetLife by 33.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 24,663,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,019,427,000 after acquiring an additional 6,213,923 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in MetLife by 109.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $722,727,000 after acquiring an additional 4,606,748 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in MetLife by 43.7% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,663,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $463,701,000 after acquiring an additional 1,723,461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 76.0% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,466,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $283,862,000 after purchasing an additional 1,496,645 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MET. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.69.

MetLife Price Performance

MET opened at $77.82 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $77.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.21 and a 1 year high of $89.05. The stock has a market cap of $52.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.04, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. Analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be paid a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 36.91%.

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.