Bayforest Capital Ltd Buys 9,772 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

Key Points

• Bayforest Capital Ltd significantly increased its stake in MetLife, Inc. by 577.9% during Q2, acquiring an additional 9,772 shares, making its total holdings valued at approximately $922,000.
• MetLife recently reported $2.02 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing analyst expectations and experiencing a 2.7% decline in year-over-year revenue.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5675 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.8%, to be paid on December 9th.

Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 577.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 11,463 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 9,772 shares during the quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd's holdings in MetLife were worth $922,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 88.2% during the second quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 6,328 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $509,000 after buying an additional 2,965 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.8% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 422,684 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,937,000 after purchasing an additional 19,192 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 52.1% during the first quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 9,355 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $751,000 after purchasing an additional 3,204 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the first quarter worth $255,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 20.7% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 60,785 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,735,000 after purchasing an additional 10,414 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $80.79 on Tuesday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $79.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.09. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.21 and a 1-year high of $89.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.30). MetLife had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 19.88%. The company had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.28 EPS. MetLife's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th will be given a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 4th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MET shares. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MetLife has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $95.18.

About MetLife

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.

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