Two Sigma Securities LLC Takes Position in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Key Points

• Two Sigma Securities acquired 49,691 MetLife shares worth approximately $4.2 million in the second quarter. Institutional ownership remains very high at 94.99%, with several major firms also adding new positions.
• MetLife reported quarterly EPS of $2.43, exceeding estimates of $2.30, while revenue rose 10.5% year over year. The company also authorized a $3 billion share-repurchase program and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5925 per share, yielding about 2.5% annually.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with a $102.21 price target; MetLife shares recently opened at $96.57, near their 52-week high of $100.93.

Two Sigma Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 49,691 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,204,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the 2nd quarter worth about $4,381,692,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new position in MetLife in the 2nd quarter worth about $941,792,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $639,986,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 2nd quarter valued at about $455,424,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in MetLife during the 2nd quarter valued at about $326,904,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Performance

MET stock opened at $96.57 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.33 and a 1 year high of $100.93. The company has a market cap of $62.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.78. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $93.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.88.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. MetLife's revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

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

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on MetLife from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. TD Cowen upped their price target on MetLife from $87.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on MetLife from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $102.21.

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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