Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Has $94.61 Million Holdings in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in MetLife, Inc. by 24.9%, acquiring an additional 234,900 shares, bringing its total ownership to 1,178,326 shares valued at approximately $94.6 million.
• MetLife reported quarterly earnings on August 6th with an EPS of $2.02, falling short of analyst expectations of $2.32, alongside revenue of $17.34 billion, which was below the anticipated $18.58 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5675 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.8% and a payout ratio of 38.47%, scheduled to be paid on September 9th.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 24.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,178,326 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 234,900 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.18% of MetLife worth $94,608,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MET. Csenge Advisory Group increased its position in shares of MetLife by 1.0% during the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 13,647 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,096,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in MetLife by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 14,265 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,145,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in MetLife by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 6,463 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $519,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Unigestion Holding SA raised its position in MetLife by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 23,661 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,900,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Davis R M Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,315 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group dropped their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $97.00 price target (up from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $95.60.

MetLife Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of NYSE:MET traded down $2.24 on Friday, reaching $79.51. The company had a trading volume of 4,830,111 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,797,014. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve month high of $89.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $78.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.39.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.30). MetLife had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 19.88%. The company had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.28 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be paid a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 5th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.47%.

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.