Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Buys New Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 8,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $703,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in MetLife by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 6,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $533,000 after purchasing an additional 889 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 9,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $800,000 after buying an additional 654 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $541,000. Marcum Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 4,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $352,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accurate Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,080,000 after acquiring an additional 1,421 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Down 1.5%

MetLife stock opened at $79.93 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.21 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $76.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.17. The stock has a market cap of $53.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.04). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. The firm had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be issued a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.91%.

MetLife announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price target on MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $109.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.69.

MetLife Company 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.