Mystic Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET – Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 12,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,042,000.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the 1st quarter valued at about $307,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 187.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,680,000 after buying an additional 21,771 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the second quarter valued at $404,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $444,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
MET has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on MetLife from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on MetLife from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Atlantic Securities set a $103.00 price objective on MetLife in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.64.
MetLife Stock Performance
NYSE:MET opened at $93.55 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $92.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.33 and a twelve month high of $100.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.92, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.78.
MetLife (NYSE:MET – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.13. MetLife had a return on equity of 23.39% and a net margin of 4.57%.The firm had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
MetLife Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 45.40%.
MetLife announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, August 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 4.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.
MetLife Company Profile
MetLife, Inc is a global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. Headquartered in New York City, the company offers a range of risk protection and retirement solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life insurance, group benefits, retirement products such as annuities, and supplemental health products including dental and disability coverage.
In addition to traditional life and group insurance, MetLife provides workplace benefits and voluntary products distributed through employer-sponsored programs.
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