Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd Invests $466,000 in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 5,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $466,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quaker Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 198.2% during the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 672 shares in the last quarter. Motco boosted its holdings 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 acquired a new stake in MetLife during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. GFG Capital LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Abound Wealth Management increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $75.00 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.21 and a 12-month high of $89.05. The company has a market cap of $49.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.87.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.64 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 5.83%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.95 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 4th will be given a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 4th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MET. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on MetLife from $96.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.00.

MetLife Profile

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.