Greenleaf Trust Buys 7,648 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

Greenleaf Trust lifted its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 22.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 42,432 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,648 shares during the quarter. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in MetLife were worth $3,590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MET. Strs Ohio increased its position in MetLife by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 326,091 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,742,000 after purchasing an additional 46,469 shares during the period. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $81,494,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 622,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,163,000 after purchasing an additional 13,657 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new position in MetLife during the second quarter valued at approximately $14,182,000. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp purchased a new position in MetLife during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,683,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MET has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 22nd. Evercore restated a “mixed” rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Atlantic Securities set a $103.00 price objective on MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group lifted their target price on MetLife from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.21.

MetLife Price Performance

NYSE MET opened at $96.57 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $93.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.78. 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.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.13. MetLife had a return on equity of 23.39% and a net margin of 4.57%.The firm had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be issued a $0.5925 dividend. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.40%.

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

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.