GSA Capital Partners LLP Invests $2.46 Million in MetLife, Inc. $MET

GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 31,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,459,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Providence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 3rd quarter valued at $6,649,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,176,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,905,000 after purchasing an additional 96,523 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,630,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $366,524,000 after purchasing an additional 117,545 shares during the period. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 137,956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,363,000 after purchasing an additional 24,800 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in shares of MetLife by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 393,035 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,374,000 after buying an additional 30,200 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MetLife from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America lowered their target price on MetLife from $103.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on MetLife from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.15.

MetLife Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of MET stock opened at $81.40 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $74.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a market capitalization of $52.38 billion, a PE ratio of 15.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.78. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.33 and a 12-month high of $83.85.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $14.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.49 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 22.60% and a net margin of 4.66%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.96 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.92 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be given a $0.5925 dividend. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.93%.

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.