HBK Sorce Advisory LLC Invests $1.95 Million in MetLife, Inc. $MET

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC bought a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 20,263 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,951,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Flputnam Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in MetLife in the second quarter valued at $465,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the second quarter worth about $1,255,000. 1ST Source Bank acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the second quarter worth about $3,251,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 2nd quarter valued at about $293,287,000. Finally, Sandro Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 2nd quarter valued at about $359,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MET shares. UBS Group raised their price target on MetLife from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Mizuho increased their price objective on MetLife from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.07.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $97.57 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $91.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.58. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.33 and a 1-year high of $100.93. 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 has a market cap of $62.78 billion, a PE ratio of 18.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.78.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 23.39% and a net margin of 4.57%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

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

MetLife announced that its board has approved a share repurchase 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 buy up to 4.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.