Greenleaf Trust Boosts Stake in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Greenleaf Trust lifted its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 22.0% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 42,432 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,648 shares during the quarter. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in MetLife were worth $3,590,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in MetLife in the 2nd quarter worth $4,381,692,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its position in MetLife by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 11,883,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $938,071,000 after acquiring an additional 2,211,315 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $639,986,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,012,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $553,543,000 after purchasing an additional 176,811 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 5.9% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,026,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $509,904,000 after purchasing an additional 336,794 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of MET opened at $96.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $62.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.50, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.78. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.33 and a 52 week high of $100.93. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $93.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.13. MetLife had a return on equity of 23.39% and a net margin of 4.57%.The company had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. MetLife’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.74 EPS for the current year.

MetLife announced that its board has approved a stock buyback 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 buy up to 4.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. 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 payout ratio is 45.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MET shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on MetLife from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $102.21.

MetLife Company 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.