VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Makes New Investment in MetLife, Inc. $MET

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 151,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $12,801,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 8,029.0% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 73,771,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,241,789,000 after purchasing an additional 72,863,779 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in MetLife by 6.4% in the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 9,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $869,000 after buying an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. Kintra Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 11.1% in the second quarter. Kintra Wealth LLC now owns 20,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,696,000 after acquiring an additional 2,005 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 4.2% in the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 42,212 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,572,000 after acquiring an additional 1,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Saudi Central Bank grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 87.7% during the second quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 38,797 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,283,000 after acquiring an additional 18,125 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on MET. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. TD Cowen upped their price target 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Evercore reissued a “mixed” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Monday, August 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.21.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $97.51 on Tuesday. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.33 and a twelve 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. The company has a market cap of $62.74 billion, a PE ratio of 18.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50 day moving average is $94.65 and its 200 day moving average is $83.68.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.57% and a return on equity of 23.39%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.76 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be given a dividend of $0.5925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 45.40%.

MetLife declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, August 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 4.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.