Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Buys 25,838 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 25.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 126,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 25,838 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $9,974,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $639,986,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 12.1% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 11,883,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $938,071,000 after purchasing an additional 2,211,315 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $271,424,000 after purchasing an additional 1,695,563 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake 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 valued at $135,190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040,894 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MET opened at $84.61 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $54.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.78. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $77.84 and a 200 day moving average of $77.00. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.33 and a twelve month high of $85.29.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.49 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 22.60%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be issued a $0.5925 dividend. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 45.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $103.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.31.

MetLife Company 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.