Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Makes New $1.58 Million Investment in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 18,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,578,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in MetLife during the second quarter worth $4,381,692,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the second quarter valued at $941,792,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth about $639,986,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in MetLife by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,555,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,727,518,000 after acquiring an additional 7,805,814 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the 2nd quarter worth about $293,287,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE:MET opened at $95.12 on Thursday. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $67.33 and a one year high of $100.93. The company has a market cap of $61.20 billion, a PE ratio of 18.22, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $92.17 and a 200-day moving average of $81.98.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.13. MetLife had a net margin of 4.57% and a return on equity of 23.39%. The business had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife declared that its board has approved a stock 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MET. Atlantic Securities set a $103.00 target price on MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on MetLife from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Mizuho boosted their price target on MetLife from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.64.

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.