Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $256.47 Million Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,878,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 104,116 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.52% of MetLife worth $256,468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MET. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of MetLife by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 91,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,518,000 after acquiring an additional 788 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $246,000. Graypoint LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $310,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its holdings in MetLife by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 8,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $529,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in MetLife by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 928,591 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,418,000 after purchasing an additional 2,326 shares in the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MET opened at $71.66 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $50.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.03. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $71.76 and a 200 day moving average of $67.65. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.95 and a twelve month high of $74.68.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83. MetLife had a net margin of 3.50% and a return on equity of 20.39%. The business had revenue of $17.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. MetLife’s payout ratio is 71.48%.

MetLife declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MET. UBS Group cut their target price on MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MetLife news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total value of $1,951,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the company’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 owns 146,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by 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.