Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Sells 7,000 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lowered its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 6.8% during 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 96,015 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,000 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in MetLife were worth $7,579,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in MetLife by 205.8% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 790.0% in the third quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 58.9% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Up 0.1%

MetLife stock opened at $84.61 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.44 billion, a PE ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.78. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.33 and a 12 month high of $85.29. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.49 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 22.60% and a net margin of 4.66%.The business’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.96 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on MetLife from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on MetLife from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on MetLife from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Mizuho set a $95.00 price objective on MetLife in a research note on Friday, May 8th. 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.31.

About MetLife

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.