Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC Makes New $1.55 Million Investment in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Key Points

• Beacon Pointe Advisors initiated a MetLife position worth approximately $1.55 million, purchasing 18,305 shares in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 94.99% of MetLife’s outstanding stock.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with one Strong Buy, eleven Buy and one Hold rating. The consensus price target is $102.21, above MetLife’s reported opening price of $96.57.
• MetLife exceeded quarterly earnings expectations with EPS of $2.43 versus a $2.30 consensus estimate, while also declaring a $0.5925 quarterly dividend and authorizing a $3 billion share-repurchase program.

Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 18,305 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,547,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MET. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in MetLife by 205.8% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the second quarter worth $26,000. Burk Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on MetLife from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MetLife from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $102.21.

MetLife Stock Performance

MET opened at $96.57 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.33 and a 12-month high of $100.93. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $93.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.14 billion, a PE ratio of 18.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.78.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.13. MetLife had a net margin of 4.57% and a return on equity of 23.39%. The firm had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.74 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

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

MetLife announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, August 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 4.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership 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.

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