Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Buys Shares of 85,941 MetLife, Inc. $MET

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 85,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,078,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MET. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in MetLife by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,630,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $366,524,000 after acquiring an additional 117,545 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 326,091 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,742,000 after purchasing an additional 46,469 shares in the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 666,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $54,888,000 after purchasing an additional 71,781 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in MetLife in the third quarter worth $8,091,000. Finally, AIA Group Ltd boosted its holdings in MetLife by 93.5% in the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 33,714 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,777,000 after purchasing an additional 16,288 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $89.90 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $57.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $83.11 and its 200-day moving average is $78.34. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.33 and a 52-week high of $90.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 22.60% and a net margin of 4.66%.The business had revenue of $14.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.98 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were given a $0.5925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho set a $95.00 target price on MetLife in a report on Friday, May 8th. Evercore set a $96.00 price objective on MetLife in a report on Thursday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on MetLife from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Barclays boosted their target price on MetLife from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on MetLife from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. One investment 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.62.

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.