Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Acquires Shares of 18,649 MetLife, Inc. $MET

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 18,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,578,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the second quarter worth about $195,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the second quarter worth $941,792,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the second quarter worth $1,587,000. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp bought a new stake in MetLife during the second quarter valued at $2,516,000. Finally, MidFirst Bank bought a new stake in MetLife during the second quarter valued at $204,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MET shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on MetLife from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. UBS Group upped 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. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.64.

MetLife Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE:MET opened at $95.12 on Thursday. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $92.17 and a 200 day moving average of $81.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.78. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.33 and a 52 week high of $100.93.

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

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, August 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 4.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.5925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 45.40%.

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.