Entropy Technologies LP Increases Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Entropy Technologies LP boosted its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 38.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 30,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,440 shares during the quarter. Entropy Technologies LP’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MET. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in MetLife by 91.1% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 461,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,042,000 after purchasing an additional 220,060 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in MetLife by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $509,000 after purchasing an additional 1,503 shares in the last quarter. Dfpg Investments LLC increased its stake in MetLife by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Dfpg Investments LLC now owns 8,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in MetLife by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,664,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $176,304,000 after purchasing an additional 240,564 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marcum Wealth LLC purchased a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $217,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of MET traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $76.28. 70,018 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,334,114. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $57.91 and a 1-year high of $76.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.24 billion, a PE ratio of 26.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a fifty day moving average of $71.39 and a 200-day moving average of $70.65.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.83. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.39% and a net margin of 3.50%. The firm had revenue of $17.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.59 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.91%.

MetLife declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MET has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on MetLife from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.46.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc, a financial services company, provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management services worldwide. It operates through six segments: Retirement and Income Solutions; Group Benefits; Asia; Latin America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and MetLife Holdings. The company offers life, dental, group short-and long-term disability, individual disability, pet insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, vision, and accident and health coverages, as well as prepaid legal plans; administrative services-only arrangements to employers; and general and separate account, and synthetic guaranteed interest contracts, as well as private floating rate funding agreements.