Flaharty Asset Management LLC Takes Position in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $80,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in MetLife by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 42,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,484,000 after buying an additional 4,722 shares during the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 42,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,458,000 after buying an additional 5,510 shares during the period. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,173,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 19.5% in the 4th quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 26,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,136,000 after acquiring an additional 4,254 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $97.00 price target (up from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.60.

MetLife Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:MET opened at $79.25 on Thursday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.21 and a 12-month high of $89.05. The firm has a market cap of $52.70 billion, a PE ratio of 13.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $78.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.33.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.30). The company had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.58 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 5.83%.MetLife’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were given a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.47%.

About MetLife

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.