Trajan Wealth LLC Makes New $8.43 Million Investment in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Trajan Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 99,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,428,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the second quarter worth about $4,381,692,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife in the second quarter valued at approximately $941,792,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $639,986,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in MetLife by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,555,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,727,518,000 after buying an additional 7,805,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in MetLife during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $293,287,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Trading Up 2.0%

MetLife stock opened at $96.20 on Tuesday. 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 12 month low of $67.33 and a 12 month high of $100.93. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $92.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.32. The firm has a market cap of $61.90 billion, a PE ratio of 18.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.78.

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

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

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be given a $0.5925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 45.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on MET shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on MetLife from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price 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.