EntryPoint Capital LLC Makes New Investment in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 5,149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $422,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Price Performance

MET stock opened at $83.70 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.79. The company has a market capitalization of $57.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.30 and a 52-week high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. Research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MET. Barclays dropped their price objective on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.58.

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.