Denali Advisors LLC Invests $474,000 in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $474,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management increased its position in MetLife by 205.8% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management acquired a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Prosperity Bancshares Inc acquired a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their target price on MetLife from $87.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price 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, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.64.

MetLife Trading Down 1.6%

MET opened at $93.55 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $60.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.92, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.78. 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’s 50 day moving average is $92.29 and its 200-day moving average is $82.08. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.33 and a 1-year high of $100.93.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.57% and a return on equity of 23.39%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.02 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be issued a $0.5925 dividend. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.40%.

MetLife announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback 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 repurchase up to 4.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife 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.