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

Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 24,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,087,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in MetLife by 205.8% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc bought a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in MetLife during the third quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Atlantic Securities set a $103.00 target price on MetLife in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on MetLife from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on MetLife from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.07.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $96.73 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $62.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $91.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.72. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.33 and a fifty-two week high of $100.93. 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 (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be paid a $0.5925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 currently 45.40%.

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

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.