NEOS Investment Management LLC Buys 10,646 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 13.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 89,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,646 shares during the quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $7,591,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MET. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in MetLife by 9.0% during 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 bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the first quarter valued at approximately $307,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 187.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,680,000 after purchasing an additional 21,771 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in MetLife in the second quarter worth $404,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in MetLife in the 2nd quarter valued at $444,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE:MET opened at $97.51 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.77. 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 1 year low of $67.33 and a 1 year high of $100.93. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $94.42 and a 200-day moving average of $83.50.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.13. MetLife had a return on equity of 23.39% and a net margin of 4.57%.The business had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. MetLife’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, August 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 4.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MET shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $103.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. UBS Group upped their price objective on MetLife from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays increased their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen raised MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.21.

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.