Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Buys Shares of 22,516 MetLife, Inc. $MET

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 22,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,905,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MET. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 0.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 10,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $802,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 2.4% during the first quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 5,813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Worth Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MET shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.64.

MetLife Stock Down 1.6%

MET opened at $93.55 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $92.29 and a 200-day moving average of $82.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.78. 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.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.57% and a return on equity of 23.39%. MetLife’s revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, August 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 4.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

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

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.