Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P. Acquires Shares of 18,176 MetLife, Inc. $MET

Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P. bought a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 18,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,538,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MET. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in MetLife by 205.8% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Burk Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE MET opened at $96.62 on Thursday. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.33 and a 52-week high of $100.93. The company has a fifty day moving average of $92.96 and a 200-day moving average of $82.60. The company 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 quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20.

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

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, August 5th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 4.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are 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 paid a $0.5925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MET shares. Atlantic Securities set a $103.00 price target on MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $103.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus 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.