Man Group plc Invests $103.53 Million in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Man Group plc purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,223,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $103,535,000. Man Group plc owned 0.19% of MetLife at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC raised its stake in MetLife by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 26,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,128,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 10,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $802,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.4% during the first quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 5,813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.1% during the second quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC now owns 4,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $385,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its position in MetLife by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 29,687 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,343,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

MET opened at $95.91 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $92.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.45. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.33 and a 1 year high of $100.93. The stock has a market cap of $61.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.37, a PEG ratio of 0.74 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. MetLife had a net margin of 4.57% and a return on equity of 23.39%. The firm had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. The company’s revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.02 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be given a $0.5925 dividend. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MET. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on MetLife from $103.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on MetLife from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Atlantic Securities set a $103.00 price target on shares of MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.21.

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.