Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Makes New $1.25 Million Investment in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. acquired a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 14,744 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,247,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Activest Wealth Management increased its position in MetLife by 205.8% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Burk Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management bought a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on MET. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on MetLife from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Atlantic Securities set a $103.00 target price on MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Evercore restated a "mixed" rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on MetLife from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $102.21.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $96.20 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $92.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.32. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.33 and a fifty-two week high of $100.93. The company has a market capitalization of $61.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 45.40%.

MetLife Company 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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