iSAM Funds UK Ltd Acquires Shares of 5,600 MetLife, Inc. $MET

iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $474,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MET. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC raised its holdings in MetLife by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 26,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,128,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 10,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $802,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife by 2.4% in the first quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 5,813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.1% in the second quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC now owns 4,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 29,687 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,343,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $96.45 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $93.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $62.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.48, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.77. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.33 and a 12-month high of $100.93.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.57% and a return on equity of 23.39%. MetLife’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.02 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.76 EPS for the current year.

MetLife declared that its board has approved a share 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 purchase up to 4.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the subject of several analyst reports. Atlantic Securities set a $103.00 target price on MetLife in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on MetLife from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised 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 issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $102.21.

MetLife Company Profile

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.