VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Purchases Shares of 151,290 MetLife, Inc. $MET

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 151,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $12,801,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Burk Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Highland Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $97.51 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.68. 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 capitalization of $62.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.77. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.33 and a 52 week high of $100.93.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 23.39% and a net margin of 4.57%.The business’s revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

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

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 4.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho upped their price target on MetLife from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen raised MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on MetLife from $87.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Atlantic Securities set a $103.00 target price on MetLife in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $103.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target 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.