Korea Investment CORP Takes Position in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Korea Investment CORP purchased a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 231,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $19,580,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. 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 worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the first quarter valued at about $307,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 187.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,680,000 after buying an additional 21,771 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife during the second quarter worth about $404,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in MetLife during the second quarter worth about $444,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of MET opened at $94.44 on Monday. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.33 and a 1-year high of $100.93. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $92.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.19. The stock has a market cap of $60.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.78.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its 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 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 4.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally 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. Investors 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on MetLife from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on MetLife from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.