Cetera Trust Company N.A Takes Position in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 27,010 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,285,000. MetLife accounts for about 1.1% of Cetera Trust Company N.A's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Strs Ohio boosted its holdings in MetLife by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 326,091 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,742,000 after purchasing an additional 46,469 shares during the last quarter. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $81,494,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in MetLife by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 622,789 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $49,163,000 after purchasing an additional 13,657 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,905,684 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $134,770,000 after buying an additional 18,151 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in MetLife by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,172,050 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $94,139,000 after acquiring an additional 49,640 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen increased their target price on MetLife from $87.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Atlantic Securities set a $103.00 target price on MetLife in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded MetLife from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $102.21.

MetLife Price Performance

MET stock opened at $96.20 on Tuesday. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.33 and a 52-week high of $100.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market cap of $61.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a fifty day moving average of $92.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.32.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.67 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 23.39% and a net margin of 4.57%.The company's revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.72 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

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

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 buy up to 4.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically 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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