SG Americas Securities LLC Grows Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. $MET

SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 83.6% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 404,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 184,101 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $28,594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MET. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position 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 last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 1st quarter worth approximately $307,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 187.6% in the 1st 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 purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 2nd quarter valued at $404,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the 2nd quarter valued at $444,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on MET. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on MetLife from $103.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Wall Street Zen cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on MetLife from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.31.

More MetLife News

Here are the key news stories impacting MetLife this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MetLife shareholders approved the board slate, auditor, and executive compensation at the annual meeting, which suggests governance continuity and no major shareholder revolt. MetLife Shareholders Back Board, Auditor and Executive Pay
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple articles about World Cup matches at MetLife Stadium highlight heavy event traffic and global exposure for the venue, but these stories are more about the stadium than MetLife’s insurance business. Norway vs. Senegal preview for World Cup match Monday at MetLife
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage noted complaints about the stadium’s new World Cup grass and match conditions, which could reflect on the venue experience, but it is unlikely to have a meaningful direct impact on MetLife’s fundamentals. World Cup players are complaining over conditions at MetLife Stadium
• Neutral Sentiment: Local stories about World Cup business near MetLife Stadium being uneven suggest some nearby merchants may not benefit as much as expected, but this does not appear to materially affect MetLife itself. World Cup business is not booming for some near MetLife Stadium
• Negative Sentiment: MetLife’s lawsuit seeking a receiver for Rockpoint’s Miracle Mile office tower, alleging default, points to stress in a commercial real estate loan or investment exposure and could be viewed as a credit-risk negative. Metlife requests receiver on Rockpoint’s Miracle Mile office tower, alleging default

MetLife Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of MET opened at $88.22 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.10, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.93. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.33 and a twelve month high of $89.62.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $14.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.49 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 22.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.96 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.98 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.5925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.93%.

MetLife 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.