Kingsview Wealth Management LLC Invests $744,000 in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Kingsview Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 8,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $744,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in MetLife during the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,381,692,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife in the second quarter worth about $941,792,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $639,986,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the second quarter worth about $455,424,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the second quarter valued at about $326,904,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $96.57 on Monday. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.33 and a twelve month high of $100.93. 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 cap of $62.14 billion, a PE ratio of 18.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s 50 day moving average is $93.39 and its 200 day moving average is $82.88.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $13.52 billion during 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.74 EPS for the current year.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, August 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 4.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on MET. Atlantic Securities set a $103.00 target price on shares of MetLife in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on MetLife from $103.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target 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.