Virtu Financial LLC Acquires New Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC acquired 33,496 shares of MetLife, Inc. for approximately $2.69 million in the first quarter, underscoring institutional interest in the stock.
• Several brokerages recently updated their price targets for MetLife, with JPMorgan Chase raising its target from $86 to $95 and Wells Fargo increasing it to $97, reflecting strong analyst sentiment.
• MetLife announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5675 per share and approved a $3 billion share buyback program, indicating confidence in the company's valuation and prospects.

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 33,496 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,689,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of MetLife by 4.8% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 422,684 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,937,000 after buying an additional 19,192 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its position in shares of MetLife by 52.1% in the first quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 9,355 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $751,000 after buying an additional 3,204 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the first quarter worth $255,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of MetLife by 20.7% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 60,785 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,735,000 after buying an additional 10,414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the first quarter worth $516,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $98.00 price objective (down previously from $99.00) on shares of MetLife in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $97.00 price objective (up from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $96.00.

MetLife Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE MET traded up $0.79 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $77.35. The stock had a trading volume of 3,158,875 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,437,293. The business's 50 day moving average is $77.97 and its 200-day moving average is $78.90. The company has a market cap of $51.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.11, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.85. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.21 and a 52 week high of $89.05. 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 (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.58 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 5.83%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.28 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be paid a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. MetLife's payout ratio is currently 38.47%.

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.