Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Makes New $6.08 Million Investment in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 85,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,078,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth $639,986,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in MetLife by 12.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 7,805,814 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its stake in MetLife by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 11,883,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $938,071,000 after purchasing an additional 2,211,315 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in MetLife by 105.3% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,305,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $271,424,000 after buying an additional 1,695,563 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in MetLife by 173.4% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,641,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $135,190,000 after buying an additional 1,040,894 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $89.90 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $67.33 and a one year high of $90.06. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $83.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.84 billion, a PE ratio of 17.42, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.78.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $14.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.49 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 22.60% and a net margin of 4.66%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.96 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were paid a $0.5925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Evercore set a $96.00 price objective on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Mizuho set a $95.00 target price on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.62.

MetLife 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.