MetLife, Inc. $MET Shares Bought by Ameriprise Financial Inc.

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in MetLife, Inc. by 3.6% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 259,993 shares and reaching a total holding of over 7.4 million shares worth approximately $594 million.
• Several other hedge funds also boosted their positions in MetLife, reflecting a strong interest from institutional investors, who now own 94.99% of the company's stock.
• MetLife announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5675 per share and has a share buyback plan to repurchase up to 5.9% of its stock, a sign of confidence from its leadership in the company's valuation.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 3.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,406,512 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 259,993 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 1.10% of MetLife worth $594,410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MET. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 1st quarter valued at about $336,965,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 1st quarter valued at about $312,946,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,488,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,126,734,000 after acquiring an additional 1,824,907 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,052,202 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $577,434,000 after acquiring an additional 958,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 8,789.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 815,889 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $65,508,000 after acquiring an additional 806,711 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Trading Up 2.7%

MET traded up $2.1760 on Friday, reaching $81.4160. 3,502,666 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,660,596. The company's 50 day moving average is $77.91 and its 200-day moving average is $78.46. The company has a market cap of $54.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.80, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.85. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve month high of $89.05. 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 posted its earnings results 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). MetLife had a return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 5.83%.The business had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.58 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.28 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be given a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. 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 note on Thursday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $95.60.

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.