Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Buys 19,383 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd grew its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 78.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 19,383 shares during the period. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,915,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. bought a new stake in MetLife during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on MET. StockNews.com cut shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 10th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.08.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MetLife stock traded up $0.42 during trading on Friday, reaching $72.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 126,734 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,409,369. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.38 and a 52 week high of $74.68. The firm has a market cap of $51.25 billion, a PE ratio of 24.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $72.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) 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 revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 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 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 74.91%.

MetLife announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total transaction of $289,469.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 146,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,567,933.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other MetLife news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the company’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 directly owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

MetLife 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.