Swedbank AB Buys 1,496,645 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Swedbank AB raised its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 76.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,466,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,496,645 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.50% of MetLife worth $283,862,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MET. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in MetLife during the third quarter worth approximately $91,771,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 79.1% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,726,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $142,378,000 after purchasing an additional 762,291 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in shares of MetLife by 256.6% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 948,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,209,000 after purchasing an additional 682,333 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in MetLife by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,238,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,735,000 after purchasing an additional 608,224 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in MetLife by 107.5% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 30,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,501,000 after buying an additional 435,807 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on MET. StockNews.com downgraded MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.46.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET traded up $1.13 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $86.81. 300,878 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,386,720. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $64.61 and a 12-month high of $89.05. The company has a market cap of $60.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.61, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $83.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.30.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 43.95%.

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.