Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Has $219.14 Million Holdings in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Key Points

• Arrowstreet Capital increased its MetLife stake by 133.5% in Q1, buying an additional 1,771,689 shares and bringing its total holding to 3,098,649 shares worth about $219.1 million.
• Several analysts turned more positive on MetLife, with recent price targets ranging up to $105; the stock currently carries a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $100.50.
• MetLife reported Q1 EPS of $2.42, topping estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5925 per share payable September 8, implying an annual yield of about 2.5%.

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 133.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,098,649 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,771,689 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned 0.48% of MetLife worth $219,136,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 205.8% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife by 58.9% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 383 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Prosperity Bancshares Inc bought a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho boosted their price objective on MetLife from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Evercore set a $96.00 price target on MetLife in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned 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 target price of $100.50.

MetLife Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $94.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.33 and a 52-week high of $94.86. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $87.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.55. The firm has a market cap of $60.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.35, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.78.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.49 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 22.60% and a net margin of 4.66%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.96 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be given a $0.5925 dividend. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.93%.

MetLife Company Profile

MetLife, Inc is a global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. Headquartered in New York City, the company offers a range of risk protection and retirement solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life insurance, group benefits, retirement products such as annuities, and supplemental health products including dental and disability coverage.

In addition to traditional life and group insurance, MetLife provides workplace benefits and voluntary products distributed through employer-sponsored programs.

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