Machina Capital S.A.S. Invests $1.56 Million in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 19,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,556,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quaker Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 198.2% in the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares during the period. Motco grew its position in MetLife by 105.5% during the first quarter. Motco now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. GFG Capital LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Abound Wealth Management grew its position in MetLife by 652.3% during the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in MetLife during the second quarter worth about $40,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of MET opened at $79.21 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $52.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.42, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $65.21 and a one year high of $89.05. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.72.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.30). The business had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.58 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 5.83%.The firm’s revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.28 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 4th will be given a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 4th. MetLife’s payout ratio is 38.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MET shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on MetLife from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. UBS Group decreased their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on MetLife from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.18.

MetLife 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.