MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Position Boosted by Ensign Peak Advisors Inc

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,085,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 67,032 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in MetLife were worth $88,905,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on MetLife from $109.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.69.

MetLife Stock Performance

MET stock opened at $77.82 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.24. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.21 and a 52 week high of $89.05. The stock has a market cap of $52.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.04). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. The company had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.06 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.91%.

MetLife declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.