Simplicity Wealth LLC Purchases Shares of 9,313 MetLife, Inc. $MET

Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 9,313 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $788,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the first quarter valued at approximately $307,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 187.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,680,000 after buying an additional 21,771 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the second quarter worth approximately $404,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $444,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Price Performance

MET opened at $97.57 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.78 billion, a PE ratio of 18.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The business’s 50-day moving average is $91.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.58. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.33 and a 1 year high of $100.93.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $13.52 billion for 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 was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.02 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 45.40%.

MetLife announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, August 5th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 4.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MET has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Atlantic Securities set a $103.00 price objective on shares of MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.07.

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.