Plato Investment Management Ltd Makes New $2.09 Million Investment in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 24,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,087,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MET. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 351 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the 1st quarter worth $307,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 187.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,680,000 after acquiring an additional 21,771 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife during the second quarter valued at about $404,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the 2nd quarter worth about $444,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MET. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on MetLife from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Atlantic Securities set a $103.00 price target on shares of MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.07.

MetLife Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE MET opened at $96.73 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.33 and a fifty-two week high of $100.93. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $91.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.72. The stock has a market cap of $62.24 billion, a PE ratio of 18.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.78.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.57% and a return on equity of 23.39%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 45.40%.

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.