OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Makes New $2.68 Million Investment in MetLife, Inc. $MET

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 31,710 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,683,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MET. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in MetLife by 205.8% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in MetLife in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Burk Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Price Performance

NYSE:MET opened at $95.91 on Wednesday. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.33 and a 52 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. The company has a market capitalization of $61.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $92.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.45.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 23.39% and a net margin of 4.57%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.02 EPS. Equities analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.72 EPS for the current year.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, August 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 4.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

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 $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 is presently 45.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Atlantic Securities set a $103.00 target price on MetLife in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group lifted their price target on MetLife from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $102.21.

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.