Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. Takes Position in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 327,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $27,711,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. owned 0.05% of MetLife at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MET. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 26,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,128,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 10,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $802,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife by 2.4% during the first quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 5,813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife by 3.1% during the second quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC now owns 4,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $385,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 29,687 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,343,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE MET opened at $95.12 on Thursday. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.33 and a twelve month high of $100.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market cap of $61.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.22, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $92.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.98.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.57% and a return on equity of 23.39%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.02 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 4.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be given a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MET shares. Atlantic Securities set a $103.00 target price on MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. TD Cowen upped their price target on MetLife from $87.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on MetLife from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on MetLife from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on MetLife from $93.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.64.

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.