Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Buys New Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 47,139 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,117,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its stake in MetLife by 118.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 10,108,992 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $635,957,000 after buying an additional 5,474,449 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth about $558,460,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in MetLife by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,440,583 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $468,087,000 after buying an additional 276,364 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in MetLife by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,829,965 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $366,763,000 after buying an additional 17,375 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in MetLife by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,053,851 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $268,090,000 after buying an additional 700,788 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MET. Argus raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $79.08.

Insider Activity at MetLife

In related news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were 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 directly owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other MetLife news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,174,893.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $70.29. 2,694,267 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,378,885. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $71.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.55. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $49.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.12. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.97 and a 12-month high of $74.68.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83. The firm had revenue of $17.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.73 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 20.39%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. This is a positive change from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.91%.

MetLife declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Company 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.