Sivia Capital Partners LLC Acquires New Stake in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Key Points

• Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased 5,029 shares of MetLife, Inc. valued at approximately $404,000, increasing institutional interest in the financial services provider.
• MetLife recently reported earnings per share of $2.02 for the last quarter, missing expectations of $2.32, with a revenue of $17.34 billion compared to an expected $18.58 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5675 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 2.9%, with a payout ratio of 38.47%.

Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,029 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $404,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. North Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Motco boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 105.5% during the first quarter. Motco now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the first quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, American National Bank & Trust lifted its position in MetLife by 128.4% in the first quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 603 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Wolfe Research upgraded MetLife to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $97.00 target price (up from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $94.64.

MetLife Trading Up 0.1%

MET traded up $0.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $79.16. 8,848,968 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,409,992. The company's fifty day moving average price is $78.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.21 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.64 billion, a PE ratio of 13.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.87.

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 business had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.28 EPS. MetLife's revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.47%.

MetLife 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.