KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New $18.03 Million Investment in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 220,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $18,025,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MET. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 109.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $722,727,000 after purchasing an additional 4,606,748 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 76.0% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,466,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $283,862,000 after purchasing an additional 1,496,645 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the third quarter worth $91,771,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake 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 last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 16.8% in 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $82.33 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $83.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.67. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.30 and a 1-year high of $89.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share 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 fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.58.

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.