11,146 Shares in MetLife, Inc. $MET Acquired by Bridgewater Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Bridgewater Advisors acquired 11,146 MetLife shares worth approximately $1.07 million in the second quarter, while institutional investors collectively own 94.99% of the company.
• MetLife exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.43 in EPS versus the $2.30 consensus, with revenue up 10.5% year over year. The company also announced a $3 billion share repurchase authorization and a quarterly dividend of $0.5925 per share.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $101.07, compared with the stock’s reported price of $97.57.

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. bought a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 11,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,073,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SWS Partners bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the second quarter worth $3,145,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in MetLife in the second quarter valued at $1,204,000. Northstar Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the 2nd quarter valued at about $278,000. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. now owns 69,202 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,855,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tema ETFs LLC raised its position in MetLife by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 8,958 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $758,000 after purchasing an additional 870 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Price Performance

MET opened at $97.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.78 billion, a PE ratio of 18.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.78. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $91.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.55. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.33 and a 52-week high of $100.93.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 23.39% and a net margin of 4.57%.The firm's revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be given a $0.5925 dividend. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.40%.

MetLife announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, August 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 4.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MET has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on MetLife from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. UBS Group increased their price objective on MetLife from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $101.07.

MetLife 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.

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