MetLife, Inc. $MET Shares Bought by Swedbank AB

Swedbank AB grew its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 4.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,316,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 154,889 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in MetLife were worth $273,162,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quaker Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in MetLife by 198.2% during the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 672 shares in the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. GFG Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management lifted its stake in MetLife by 652.3% during the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Down 0.5%

MET stock opened at $80.93 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $78.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.91. The company has a market capitalization of $53.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.76. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.21 and a 52 week high of $88.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $12.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.64 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 21.00%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.95 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th were issued a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 4th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 42.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Monday, December 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $101.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings raised MetLife from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered MetLife from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.73.

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.