Quarry LP Boosts Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Quarry LP raised its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 155.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,270 shares during the period. Quarry LP’s holdings in MetLife were worth $147,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MET. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,622,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,418,612,000 after acquiring an additional 1,974,268 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 1st quarter worth approximately $131,456,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 7,837.0% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,129,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,250,000 after acquiring an additional 1,115,124 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 22.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,396,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $378,799,000 after acquiring an additional 988,666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 29.7% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,120,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $157,133,000 after acquiring an additional 485,811 shares in the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MET stock opened at $82.48 on Tuesday. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $57.91 and a twelve month high of $82.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. The business had revenue of $17.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th were paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MET shares. StockNews.com raised MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on MetLife from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Barclays started coverage on MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.23.

MetLife 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.