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

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

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caprock Group LLC raised its position in MetLife by 24.1% in the second quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 23,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,679,000 after acquiring an additional 4,647 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in MetLife by 7,837.0% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,129,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,250,000 after acquiring an additional 1,115,124 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in MetLife by 614.8% in the second quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 146,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,253,000 after acquiring an additional 125,637 shares during the period. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife by 19.9% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 32,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,286,000 after purchasing an additional 5,394 shares during the period. Finally, Savant Capital LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife by 88.0% during the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 23,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,646,000 after purchasing an additional 10,977 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Down 3.3 %

MET traded down $2.50 on Friday, reaching $74.08. 4,991,179 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,346,042. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $57.91 and a one year high of $79.34. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.08. The company has a market cap of $52.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $18.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.68 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on MET. Barclays began coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 company. According to MarketBeat, MetLife presently has a consensus 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.