ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Buys Shares of 37,417 MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased 37,417 shares of MetLife, valued at approximately $3,004,000, during the first quarter of the year.
• Analysts have set new price targets for MetLife, with UBS Group lowering theirs from $94 to $91 and Morgan Stanley adjusting from $99 to $98.
• MetLife announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5675 per share with a 3.1% yield, alongside a share buyback plan of up to $3 billion.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 37,417 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,004,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in MetLife by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 422,684 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,937,000 after purchasing an additional 19,192 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its stake in MetLife by 52.1% during the first quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 9,355 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $751,000 after buying an additional 3,204 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc bought a new stake in MetLife during the first quarter valued at $255,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in MetLife by 20.7% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 60,785 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,735,000 after buying an additional 10,414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in MetLife in the 1st quarter worth about $516,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on MET. UBS Group cut their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $98.00 price target (down previously from $99.00) on shares of MetLife in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $97.00 target price (up previously from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $95.40.

MetLife Trading Down 2.9%

NYSE MET opened at $73.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $49.53 billion, a PE ratio of 12.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.85. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.21 and a 1-year high of $89.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $78.13 and a 200-day moving average of $79.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by ($0.30). The company had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.58 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 19.72% and a net margin of 5.83%. MetLife's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.28 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be issued a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.47%.

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

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.

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