Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Purchases New Position in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. acquired a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 14,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,247,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in MetLife by 205.8% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the second quarter worth $26,000. Burk Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $96.20 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $92.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.43, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.78. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.33 and a 52-week high of $100.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.13. MetLife had a net margin of 4.57% and a return on equity of 23.39%. The firm had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.72 EPS for the current year.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, August 5th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 4.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be issued 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MET shares. Barclays boosted their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $102.21.

About MetLife

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.