B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Makes New $7.40 Million Investment in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Key Points

• B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG purchased 87,420 MetLife shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $7.4 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own nearly 95% of the company.
• MetLife reported quarterly EPS of $2.43, beating estimates of $2.30, while revenue increased 10.5% year over year. The company also authorized a $3 billion share buyback and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5925 per share, representing a 2.5% annualized yield.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with MetLife holding a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $101.64, compared with a recent share price of $93.55.

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG purchased a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 87,420 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,396,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in MetLife by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,555,335 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,727,518,000 after purchasing an additional 7,805,814 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in MetLife in the second quarter valued at $4,381,692,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 11,883,338 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $938,071,000 after buying an additional 2,211,315 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $639,986,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,012,198 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $553,543,000 after buying an additional 176,811 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $93.55 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $60.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.08. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.33 and a 52 week high of $100.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.13. MetLife had a return on equity of 23.39% and a net margin of 4.57%.The company had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.02 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.72 EPS for the current year.

MetLife announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, August 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 4.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.5925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MET has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on MetLife from $87.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $101.64.

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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