MBB Public Markets I LLC Purchases Shares of 3,926 MetLife, Inc. $MET

Key Points

• MBB Public Markets I LLC has made a new investment of $315,000 in MetLife, Inc., acquiring 3,926 shares in the first quarter.
• MetLife's stock is currently trading at $79.32, with recent quarterly earnings showing an EPS of $2.02, missing estimates by 29 cents.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5675, resulting in an annual yield of 2.9% and a payout ratio of 38.47%.

MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,926 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $315,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. North Capital Inc. bought a new stake in MetLife during the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Motco boosted its position in MetLife by 105.5% during the first quarter. Motco now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the first quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, American National Bank & Trust boosted its position in MetLife by 128.4% during the first quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 603 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MetLife stock traded up $0.52 on Friday, reaching $80.86. 2,314,200 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,642,683. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve month high of $89.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.70, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $78.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.32.

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

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. MetLife's payout ratio is 38.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MET. Wall Street Zen downgraded MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on MetLife from $98.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $97.00 price target (up previously from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $95.60.

MetLife Company Profile

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.