Virtu Financial LLC Takes Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 33,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,689,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Eagle Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 2,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.0% during the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 13,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,096,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 2.5% during the first quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 6,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $519,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Unigestion Holding SA boosted its stake in MetLife by 0.7% in the first quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 23,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,900,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Davis R M Inc. boosted its stake in MetLife by 5.3% in the first quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Up 3.3%

NYSE:MET opened at $76.25 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.21 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market capitalization of $51.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.92, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.85.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.30). MetLife had a return on equity of 19.95% and a net margin of 5.83%. The company had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.28 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on MET. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $98.00 target price (down from $99.00) on shares of MetLife in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $97.00 target price (up from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.40.

MetLife Company Profile

MetLife, Inc, a financial services company, provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management services worldwide. It operates through six segments: Retirement and Income Solutions; Group Benefits; Asia; Latin America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and MetLife Holdings. The company offers life, dental, group short-and long-term disability, individual disability, pet insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, vision, and accident and health coverages, as well as prepaid legal plans; administrative services-only arrangements to employers; and general and separate account, and synthetic guaranteed interest contracts, as well as private floating rate funding agreements.