TCM Advisors LLC Invests $846,000 in MetLife, Inc. $MET

TCM Advisors LLC bought a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 10,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $846,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 351 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the 1st quarter worth $307,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 187.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,680,000 after acquiring an additional 21,771 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife during the second quarter valued at about $404,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife during the second quarter valued at about $444,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of MET opened at $94.44 on Monday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.33 and a 12 month high of $100.93. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $92.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.19. 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 stock has a market cap of $60.77 billion, a PE ratio of 18.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.78.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $13.52 billion during 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 revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.02 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 4.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be issued a $0.5925 dividend. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on MetLife from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.64.

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.