Man Group plc Makes New $103.53 Million Investment in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Man Group plc acquired a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,223,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $103,535,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MET. Strs Ohio lifted its position in MetLife by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 326,091 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,742,000 after purchasing an additional 46,469 shares during the period. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $81,494,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in MetLife by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 622,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,163,000 after buying an additional 13,657 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 2nd quarter valued at $14,182,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,905,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $134,770,000 after acquiring an additional 18,151 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $103.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Evercore reiterated a “mixed” rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $102.21.

MetLife Stock Down 0.3%

MET opened at $95.91 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $61.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.37, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $92.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.45. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.33 and a twelve month high of $100.93.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.57% and a return on equity of 23.39%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, August 5th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 4.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.40%.

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.