14,349 Shares in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Purchased by Symmetry Investments LP

Symmetry Investments LP acquired a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 14,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,007,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its position in MetLife by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 13,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $917,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth about $201,000. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its position in MetLife by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 14,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $983,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,550,000. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth approximately $221,000. 89.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MET opened at $80.85 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $57.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $57.91 and a twelve month high of $81.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a 50 day moving average of $74.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.62.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $17.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 21.41%. MetLife’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were paid a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MET shares. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of MetLife in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.54.

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.