Equitable Holdings Inc. Invests $2.54 Million in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Equitable Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 30,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,544,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MET. Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in MetLife by 205.8% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Burk Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management bought a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET stock opened at $96.57 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.33 and a 52 week high of $100.93. The company has a market capitalization of $62.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.50, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.83. 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 (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.02 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.73 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, August 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 4.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Mizuho lifted their price objective 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. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $102.21.

About MetLife

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.