MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Holdings Raised by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,204,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 56,320 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $98,623,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MET. Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 11,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $970,000 after acquiring an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 15,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,299,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $5,151,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth $14,002,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,651,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $135,261,000 after buying an additional 12,799 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on MET. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.85.

MetLife Price Performance

NYSE MET opened at $68.71 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.93. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.30 and a 52-week high of $89.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. Equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

MetLife 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.