19,298 Shares in MetLife, Inc. $MET Acquired by North Dakota State Investment Board

North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 19,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,523,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Providence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,649,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in MetLife by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,176,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,905,000 after purchasing an additional 96,523 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in MetLife by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,630,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $366,524,000 after purchasing an additional 117,545 shares in the last quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its stake in MetLife by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 137,956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,363,000 after acquiring an additional 24,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in MetLife by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 393,035 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,374,000 after acquiring an additional 30,200 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Price Performance

MET opened at $81.05 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $74.26 and a 200 day moving average of $76.56. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.33 and a 52-week high of $83.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market cap of $52.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.71, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.78.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 22.60% and a net margin of 4.66%.The company had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.96 EPS. MetLife’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.92 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Mizuho set a $95.00 price objective on MetLife in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on MetLife from $101.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on MetLife from $91.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on MetLife from $103.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Evercore set a $96.00 price objective on MetLife in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.15.

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.