Point72 Europe London LLP Purchases New Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Point72 Europe London LLP acquired a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 117,864 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $9,651,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MET. United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its position in MetLife by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $895,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Barrett & Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $978,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 2,707 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in MetLife by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $495,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Davis R M Inc. increased its stake in MetLife by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,148 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group increased their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com raised MetLife from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on MetLife from $109.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $92.69.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MET opened at $79.93 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.17. The stock has a market cap of $53.66 billion, a PE ratio of 13.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.21 and a 1-year high of $89.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.04). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. The company had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be issued a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. This is an increase from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. MetLife's payout ratio is currently 36.91%.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About MetLife

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.

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