First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Acquires 12,689 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

Key Points

• First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired 12,689 MetLife shares during the third quarter, valued at approximately $1.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 94.99% of MetLife’s outstanding stock.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with 13 Buy ratings and two Holds, producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $105.19.
• MetLife reported quarterly EPS of $2.43, exceeding estimates, and authorized a $3 billion share-repurchase program. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5925 per share, representing a 2.4% annualized yield.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 12,689 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,195,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,381,692,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the second quarter valued at about $941,792,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 5.9% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,026,518 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $509,904,000 after buying an additional 336,794 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in MetLife during the second quarter worth about $455,424,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in MetLife during the second quarter worth about $326,904,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Atlantic Securities set a $103.00 target price on shares of MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MetLife from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, September 27th. Piper Sandler raised MetLife from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on MetLife from $103.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on MetLife from $97.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $105.19.

MetLife Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of MET stock opened at $100.27 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.33 and a fifty-two week high of $101.44. The stock has a market cap of $64.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.13. MetLife had a return on equity of 23.39% and a net margin of 4.57%. The business had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.02 EPS. The business's revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.90 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 5th that allows the company to buy back $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 4.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Share repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 3rd. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.40%.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc is a global financial services company that provides insurance, employee benefits and retirement solutions. Its products and services include life insurance, dental and vision coverage, disability insurance, accident and health benefits, annuities, and savings and retirement products.

The company serves individuals, employers and institutions through group benefits, workplace solutions and individual insurance offerings. MetLife also provides investment and retirement services designed to help employers and employees prepare for long-term financial needs.

Founded in 1868, MetLife is headquartered in New York City and operates through businesses in the United States and international markets, including regions across Latin America, Asia and Europe.

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