DRW Securities LLC Buys New Shares in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

DRW Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 11,263 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $789,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in MetLife by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,622,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,418,612,000 after buying an additional 1,974,268 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 22.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,396,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $378,799,000 after acquiring an additional 988,666 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,224,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $226,358,000 after acquiring an additional 100,782 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,772,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $205,544,000 after purchasing an additional 108,739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 29.7% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,120,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $157,133,000 after purchasing an additional 485,811 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $80.85 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.64. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $57.91 and a 12 month high of $81.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.49 billion, a PE ratio of 27.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.15. MetLife had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The company had revenue of $17.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. MetLife’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.67 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th were paid a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 74.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Barclays began coverage on MetLife in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.54.

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.