AGF Management Ltd. Has $19.78 Million Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Key Points

• AGF Management Ltd. has reduced its stake in MetLife, Inc. by 8.7%, now holding 246,327 shares valued at approximately $19.78 million.
• MetLife recently reported earnings per share of $2.02, missing estimates and seeing a 2.7% decrease in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a $3 billion stock buyback program, indicating management's belief that the shares are undervalued.

AGF Management Ltd. reduced its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 8.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 246,327 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 23,396 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd.'s holdings in MetLife were worth $19,778,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. North Capital Inc. bought a new stake in MetLife during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Motco lifted its position in MetLife by 105.5% during the first quarter. Motco now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $75.32 on Tuesday. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.21 and a 52-week high of $89.05. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $78.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

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

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. MetLife's payout ratio is presently 38.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on MET. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $97.00 price objective (up previously from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $96.00.

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.

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