4,042 Shares in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Acquired by New Vernon Investment Management LLC

New Vernon Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 4,042 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $331,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its stake in MetLife by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 6,115 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the third quarter valued at approximately $336,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the third quarter valued at approximately $701,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in MetLife by 3.9% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 19,282 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,590,000 after buying an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in MetLife by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 22,720 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,874,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MET has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their target price on MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $109.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.46.

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE:MET opened at $75.86 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $78.49 and its 200-day moving average is $81.87. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.21 and a 1-year high of $89.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $51.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.89.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. Equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. This is an increase from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. MetLife's payout ratio is presently 38.02%.

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.

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