MetLife, Inc. $MET Shares Acquired by Saudi Central Bank

Saudi Central Bank boosted its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 87.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 38,797 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,125 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank’s holdings in MetLife were worth $3,283,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the second quarter worth approximately $4,381,692,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 2nd quarter worth about $941,792,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $639,986,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the second quarter worth about $455,424,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in MetLife in the second quarter worth about $326,904,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Down 0.1%

MetLife stock opened at $97.51 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $67.33 and a one year high of $100.93. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.77.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $13.52 billion for 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%. MetLife’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.76 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, August 5th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 4.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. MetLife’s payout ratio is 45.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on MET. Atlantic Securities set a $103.00 price objective on MetLife in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on MetLife from $103.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Weiss Ratings raised MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Evercore restated a “mixed” rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target 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.