Point72 Europe London LLP Buys New Shares in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Point72 Europe London LLP purchased a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 117,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,651,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MET. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $79.93 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $76.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.17. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.21 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.39, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.04). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. The business had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 36.91%.

MetLife declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on MET. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on MetLife from $109.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.69.

MetLife Company Profile

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.