Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab Invests $8.26 Million in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab bought a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 116,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,255,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,555,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,727,518,000 after acquiring an additional 7,805,814 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 11,883,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $938,071,000 after acquiring an additional 2,211,315 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth about $639,986,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in MetLife by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,012,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $553,543,000 after purchasing an additional 176,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,201,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $410,581,000 after purchasing an additional 126,098 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of MetLife from $103.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.50.

MetLife Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $93.27 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $60.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $86.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.36. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.33 and a 1-year high of $94.86.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results 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. MetLife had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 22.60%. The business had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.96 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.5925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.93%.

MetLife Profile

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.