Mount Lucas Management LP Invests $2.21 Million in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Mount Lucas Management LP acquired a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 31,481 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,210,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MET. Forum Financial Management LP grew its position in MetLife by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 13,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $964,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. CNB Bank boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. CNB Bank now owns 1,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $129,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marcum Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 3,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Argus boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.54.

MetLife Price Performance

NYSE:MET traded down $2.50 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $74.08. 4,991,179 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,346,042. 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’s 50-day moving average is $73.32 and its 200-day moving average is $72.08. The firm has a market cap of $52.68 billion, a PE ratio of 25.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $57.91 and a twelve month high of $79.34.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be given a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.91%.

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.