Mount Lucas Management LP Grows Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Mount Lucas Management LP increased its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 9.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,112 shares during the period. MetLife accounts for approximately 0.9% of Mount Lucas Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Mount Lucas Management LP’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,031,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quaker Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 198.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 672 shares in the last quarter. Motco increased its stake in MetLife by 105.5% in the first quarter. Motco now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. GFG Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management raised its stake in MetLife by 652.3% during the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $78.65 on Monday. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $65.21 and a one year high of $89.05. The company has a market cap of $51.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.33, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $79.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.97.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $12.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.64 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 19.88%. The business’s revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.95 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th will be given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 4th. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 42.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on MetLife from $96.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wolfe Research raised MetLife to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.00.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc, a financial services company, provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management services worldwide. It operates through six segments: Retirement and Income Solutions; Group Benefits; Asia; Latin America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and MetLife Holdings. The company offers life, dental, group short-and long-term disability, individual disability, pet insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, vision, and accident and health coverages, as well as prepaid legal plans; administrative services-only arrangements to employers; and general and separate account, and synthetic guaranteed interest contracts, as well as private floating rate funding agreements.