Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Purchases 95,650 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 99.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 191,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 95,650 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in MetLife were worth $13,555,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $639,986,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in MetLife by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,555,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,727,518,000 after purchasing an additional 7,805,814 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 11,883,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $938,071,000 after purchasing an additional 2,211,315 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 105.3% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,305,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $271,424,000 after purchasing an additional 1,695,563 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 173.4% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,641,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $135,190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040,894 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $89.90 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $83.11 and a 200-day moving average of $78.34. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.33 and a 12 month high of $90.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.84 billion, a PE ratio of 17.42, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.78.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $14.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.49 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 22.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.96 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.5925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 12th. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on MetLife from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Wall Street Zen cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on MetLife from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.62.

About MetLife

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.