Old North State Trust LLC Acquires Shares of 5,953 MetLife, Inc. $MET

Old North State Trust LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 5,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $504,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strs Ohio increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 326,091 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,742,000 after acquiring an additional 46,469 shares during the period. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $81,494,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in MetLife by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 622,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,163,000 after purchasing an additional 13,657 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new position in MetLife in the second quarter valued at about $14,182,000. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new position in MetLife in the second quarter worth about $2,683,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $96.21 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $93.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.43, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.78. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.33 and a 12-month high of $100.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 4.57% and a return on equity of 23.39%. The firm had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.02 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.73 EPS for the current year.

MetLife announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, August 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 4.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. 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 payout ratio is currently 45.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MET shares. TD Cowen raised their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on MetLife from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Evercore reissued a “mixed” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Monday. Mizuho boosted their target price on MetLife from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on MetLife from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $102.21.

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.