Advisors Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Advisors Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 120,291 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $10,178,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the second quarter worth approximately $2,187,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,711,000. Csenge Advisory Group acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the second quarter worth $809,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the second quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in MetLife in the second quarter valued at about $1,905,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MET shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on MetLife from $93.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Atlantic Securities set a $103.00 target price on shares of MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $101.64.

MetLife Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of MET stock opened at $93.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $92.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.08. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $67.33 and a one year high of $100.93. The stock has a market cap of $60.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.78.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $13.52 billion for 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%.MetLife's quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. Analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be paid a $0.5925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. MetLife's payout ratio is currently 45.40%.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, August 5th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 4.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source