14,973 Shares in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Purchased by Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 14,973 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $990,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its position in MetLife by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 8,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $588,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Austin Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. KLCM Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 4,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Evergreen Wealth Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Evergreen Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 6,601 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 61,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,083,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the topic of a number of research reports. Argus raised their price objective on MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 10th. StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 11th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.08.

Insider Transactions at MetLife

In other news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total value of $289,469.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total value of $289,469.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total value of $1,951,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $72.54 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.38 and a fifty-two week high of $74.68. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $72.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market cap of $51.58 billion, a PE ratio of 24.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.09.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.39% and a net margin of 3.50%. The firm had revenue of $17.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. MetLife’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a $0.545 dividend. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.91%.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

About MetLife

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.