Freestone Grove Partners LP Makes New $13.02 Million Investment in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 159,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $13,020,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. United Asset Strategies Inc. lifted its stake in MetLife by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $895,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $978,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in MetLife by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Davis R M Inc. increased its holdings in MetLife by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,091 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $417,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MET shares. Barclays dropped their target price on MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.46.

MetLife Trading Up 0.5 %

MetLife stock opened at $75.76 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.69, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.21 and a 52 week high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.04). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. The business had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.02%.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.