MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Acquired by Motco

Motco lifted its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 105.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the quarter. Motco’s holdings in MetLife were worth $33,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. North Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Estabrook Capital Management increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 100.3% during the fourth quarter. Estabrook Capital Management now owns 589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on MET. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.09.

MetLife Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE MET opened at $78.53 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve month high of $89.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $52.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.77, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $78.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.68.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.04). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.89% and a net margin of 6.08%. The firm had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 5th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.91%.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.