67,120 Shares in MetLife, Inc. $MET Acquired by True Freedom Investing LLC

True Freedom Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 67,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,747,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,381,692,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the second quarter worth $941,792,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $639,986,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in MetLife by 12.1% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in MetLife in the second quarter valued at $293,287,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MET has been the subject of several analyst reports. Atlantic Securities set a $103.00 price objective on MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on MetLife from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on MetLife from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.64.

MetLife News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting MetLife this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street Zen upgraded MetLife to a Buy rating, providing a favorable near-term sentiment catalyst for MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET). MetLife Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy Rating
• Positive Sentiment: Dowling & Partners issued a positive outlook for MetLife’s earnings, reinforcing expectations for continued operating strength. This view follows the company’s latest reported quarter, when earnings per share exceeded consensus estimates and revenue increased year over year. DOWLING & PARTN Issues Positive Outlook for MetLife Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: A review of life-insurance companies’ second-quarter results benchmarks MetLife (NYSE: MET) against its industry peers. The article may help investors assess relative performance, but the headline does not identify a new company-specific catalyst. Life Insurance Stocks Q2 Recap: Benchmarking MetLife
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple articles cover Bruno Mars’ concerts, schedules, weather, ticket availability and fan experience at MetLife Stadium. Although potentially relevant to the stadium’s venue business, MetLife, Inc. is an insurance and financial-services company; the stadium’s naming rights do not make these events a material direct driver of MET shares. Bruno Mars Opens Four Nights at MetLife Tonight

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE MET opened at $94.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.33 and a 1 year high of $100.93. The company has a market capitalization of $60.77 billion, a PE ratio of 18.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a fifty day moving average of $92.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.17.

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 return on equity of 23.39% and a net margin of 4.57%.The company had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.02 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current year.

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 dividend of $0.5925 per share. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.40%.

MetLife announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are 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.