Redwood Investment Management LLC Acquires New Stake in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Redwood Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 13,813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,169,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MET. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in MetLife during the second quarter worth about $4,381,692,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 11,883,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $938,071,000 after purchasing an additional 2,211,315 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $639,986,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in MetLife by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,012,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $553,543,000 after buying an additional 176,811 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $455,424,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $96.62 on Thursday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.33 and a 12 month high of $100.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.78. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $92.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.60.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.57% and a return on equity of 23.39%. MetLife’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback 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 reacquire up to 4.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 4th. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 45.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on MET shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $103.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Atlantic Securities set a $103.00 price objective on MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on MetLife from $87.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $102.21.

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.