APG Asset Management N.V. Decreases Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Key Points

• APG Asset Management N.V. has reduced its stake in MetLife, Inc. by 1.5%, now holding 314,400 shares valued at approximately $23.37 million.
• A range of institutional investors have adjusted their positions in MetLife, with Eagle Strategies LLC increasing its holdings by 4.8% in the last quarter.
• MetLife's recent quarterly earnings missed analysts' expectations, reporting $2.02 earnings per share versus a consensus of $2.32, alongside a revenue decline of 2.7% year-over-year.

APG Asset Management N.V. decreased its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 314,400 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,700 shares during the quarter. APG Asset Management N.V.'s holdings in MetLife were worth $23,369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,488,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,126,734,000 after purchasing an additional 1,824,907 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,862,835 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $711,597,000 after purchasing an additional 36,177 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,406,512 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $594,410,000 after purchasing an additional 259,993 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in MetLife by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,109,423 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $570,816,000 after acquiring an additional 57,221 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in MetLife by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,671,435 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $535,568,000 after acquiring an additional 236,698 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of MET stock traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $81.21. The stock had a trading volume of 2,556,691 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,630,125. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.21 and a 12-month high of $89.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.85. The firm's 50-day moving average is $78.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 5.83%.The firm had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.28 earnings per share. MetLife's quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 5th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is 38.47%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MET. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen cut MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $97.00 price objective (up previously from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, August 22nd. 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 company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.