Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Invests $761,000 in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI purchased a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 10,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $761,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MET. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the 1st quarter worth $7,012,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased 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 valued at $132,641,000 after purchasing an additional 35,782 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,053,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 2,313.7% in the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 104,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,772,000 after purchasing an additional 100,532 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE MET opened at $78.29 on Wednesday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.91 and a 12-month high of $79.34. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.43. 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 stock has a market cap of $55.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its 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. The company had revenue of $17.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.67 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th were given a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note 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 research report on Thursday, August 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.