AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Acquires 237,611 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lifted its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 30.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,017,275 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 237,611 shares during the quarter. MetLife makes up about 1.2% of AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc's portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc owned 0.15% of MetLife worth $81,646,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on MET. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $94.17.

MetLife Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:MET traded down $0.35 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $78.46. 1,887,521 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,389,208. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.21 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.14, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.86.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.04). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. The firm had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This is a positive change from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.91%.

MetLife announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.