Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Makes New $1.10 Million Investment in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 13,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,101,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,555,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,727,518,000 after buying an additional 7,805,814 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its stake in MetLife by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 11,883,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $938,071,000 after acquiring an additional 2,211,315 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth about $639,986,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in MetLife by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,012,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $553,543,000 after acquiring an additional 176,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,201,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $410,581,000 after acquiring an additional 126,098 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on MetLife from $93.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Mizuho raised their target price on MetLife from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.07.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $97.57 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $62.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $91.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.58. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.33 and a fifty-two week high of $100.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. MetLife’s revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be issued a $0.5925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.40%.

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

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.