MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Stake Boosted by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 67,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,515 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in MetLife were worth $5,446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in MetLife by 109.2% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 4,606,748 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 13,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 2,940 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 776,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,559,000 after buying an additional 12,723 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in MetLife by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 435,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,687,000 after purchasing an additional 28,848 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,913,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $320,430,000 after buying an additional 30,187 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Up 0.8%

MetLife stock opened at $78.51 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.21 and a 1-year high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.89% and a net margin of 6.08%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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. On average, analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.17.

About MetLife

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.