Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys New Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 170,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $14,002,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MET. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,651,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $135,261,000 after purchasing an additional 12,799 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth approximately $409,000. Unison Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 52,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,263,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the period. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 100.1% in the fourth quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 5,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $442,000 after acquiring an additional 2,704 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in MetLife by 28.2% during the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Performance

MetLife stock opened at $68.71 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $82.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.96. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.30 and a 52-week high of $89.05. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. As a group, analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.85.

MetLife Company 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.