MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Stake Boosted by Checchi Capital Advisers LLC

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 2.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $505,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new stake in MetLife during the 1st quarter worth about $7,012,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in MetLife by 54.9% during the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 371,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,983,000 after acquiring an additional 131,538 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in MetLife by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,005,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $132,641,000 after acquiring an additional 35,782 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife during the 1st quarter worth about $1,053,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2,313.7% during the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 104,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,772,000 after buying an additional 100,532 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup lifted their price target on MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Bank of America reduced their price target on MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.00.

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE:MET opened at $75.75 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $72.41 and its 200-day moving average is $71.65. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $57.91 and a 52-week high of $79.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $53.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.03, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 74.91%.

MetLife announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.