HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Takes Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 14,941 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,092,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 678.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 287,311 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $19,000,000 after purchasing an additional 250,402 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,824,596 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $120,661,000 after buying an additional 293,925 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in MetLife by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,664,012 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $176,304,000 after buying an additional 240,564 shares during the period. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH boosted its position in MetLife by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 742,302 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $49,088,000 after acquiring an additional 86,091 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in MetLife by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,005,738 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $132,641,000 after acquiring an additional 35,782 shares in the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET traded up $0.48 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $69.86. The stock had a trading volume of 2,810,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,352,108. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $71.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.12. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.97 and a 52 week high of $74.68.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 during 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 revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th were issued a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 6th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. This is a positive change from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 11th. Argus increased their price objective on MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on MetLife from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $79.08.

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.