MetLife, Inc. $MET Stock Bought by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,744,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 58,571 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $164,536,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MET. Nvwm LLC increased its holdings in MetLife by 655.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 287 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in MetLife during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Burk Holdings LLC purchased a new position in MetLife during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Highland Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in MetLife in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in MetLife by 123.5% in the 3rd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about MetLife

These are some of the MET headlines that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target to $113 from $110 and maintained an “overweight” rating. Mizuho raised its target to $117 from $112 and reiterated an “outperform” rating, signaling continued analyst confidence. Mizuho price target article Wells Fargo price target article
• Neutral Sentiment: MetLife agreed to divest MetLife UK Limited. The available headline does not specify the terms or expected financial effects, so the impact on the shares is unclear. MetLife UK divestiture article
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Michel Khalaf sold 187,425 shares for about $19.3 million, reducing his direct stake by 19.8%. He still owns 759,013 shares; the sale could nevertheless raise investor concern about insider sentiment. CEO share sale article

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MET has been the topic of several recent research reports. Argus upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Mizuho raised their price objective on MetLife from $112.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on MetLife from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.12.

MetLife Price Performance

MetLife stock opened at $101.87 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.33 and a 1 year high of $106.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.21. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $98.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.79.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.01. MetLife had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 25.71%. The firm had revenue of $20.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.86 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. MetLife’s quarterly revenue was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.5925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 3rd. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.90%.

MetLife announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 4.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Share repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at MetLife

In other MetLife news, CEO Michel Khalaf sold 187,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.97, for a total value of $19,299,152.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 759,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,155,568.61. This trade represents a 19.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc. is a global financial services company best known for providing insurance, employee benefits and retirement-related products. Its offerings include life, dental and disability insurance, annuities, and products and services designed to help individuals and employers plan for financial protection and retirement. The company serves individuals, businesses and institutions in the United States and international markets, including countries in Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.