Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Invests $14.12 Million in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 172,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $14,118,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MET. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of MetLife by 33.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 24,663,239 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,019,427,000 after acquiring an additional 6,213,923 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,931,536 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $973,901,000 after buying an additional 158,107 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $730,716,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in MetLife by 109.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $722,727,000 after acquiring an additional 4,606,748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in MetLife by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,434,737 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $526,869,000 after purchasing an additional 290,734 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET stock traded up $1.92 during trading on Friday, hitting $77.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,448,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,399,606. The business has a fifty day moving average of $77.85 and a 200-day moving average of $81.56. The company has a market cap of $52.92 billion, a PE ratio of 13.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.89. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.21 and a 52 week high of $89.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

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

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

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This is an increase from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on MET shares. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com downgraded MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of MetLife from $109.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.46.

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.