Concentric Capital Strategies LP Invests $1.69 Million in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Concentric Capital Strategies LP purchased a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 20,674 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,693,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $895,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in MetLife by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $978,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 2,707 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $495,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, Davis R M Inc. raised its position in shares of MetLife by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,148 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on MET. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $109.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.69.

MetLife Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of MET traded up $0.23 on Friday, hitting $77.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,371,416 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,403,239. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $77.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.24. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.21 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. This is a boost from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.91%.

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.