97,176 Shares in MetLife, Inc. $MET Purchased by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 97,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,222,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Strs Ohio raised its position in MetLife by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 326,091 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,742,000 after purchasing an additional 46,469 shares during the last quarter. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $81,494,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in MetLife by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 622,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,163,000 after buying an additional 13,657 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in MetLife during the 2nd quarter worth about $14,182,000. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,683,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.21.

MetLife Stock Performance

MET opened at $96.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $62.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $93.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.83. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.33 and a 1 year high of $100.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.02 earnings per share. MetLife’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be paid a $0.5925 dividend. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 4th. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 45.40%.

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

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.