Curat Global LLC Buys Shares of 11,407 MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 11,407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $916,000. MetLife makes up approximately 1.1% of Curat Global LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 109.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 4,606,748 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 13,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,116,000 after acquiring an additional 2,940 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 776,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,559,000 after acquiring an additional 12,723 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 435,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,687,000 after acquiring an additional 28,848 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 56.0% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 38,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,123,000 after acquiring an additional 13,690 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Down 0.4%

MET stock opened at $78.46 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve month high of $89.05. The company has a market cap of $52.67 billion, a PE ratio of 13.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.86. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $76.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

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

MetLife declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on MET shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.17.

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.