Denali Advisors LLC Invests $526,000 in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Denali Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $526,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 2nd quarter worth $1,362,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI purchased a new position in MetLife during the second quarter worth about $761,000. One Capital Management LLC grew its position in MetLife by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. One Capital Management LLC now owns 123,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,693,000 after purchasing an additional 9,863 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in MetLife by 22.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,396,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $378,799,000 after buying an additional 988,666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 95.0% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 12,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $853,000 after buying an additional 5,918 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET stock opened at $78.29 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $74.19 and its 200 day moving average is $72.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.90, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $57.91 and a 12 month high of $79.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.15. The firm 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.67 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MET shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Citigroup lifted their target price on MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.54.

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.