Bailard Inc. Has $652,000 Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Bailard Inc. increased its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 97.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,121 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,002 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.'s holdings in MetLife were worth $652,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MET. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position 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 last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of MetLife by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 435,847 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,687,000 after buying an additional 28,848 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its position in shares of MetLife by 52.1% during the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 9,355 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $751,000 after buying an additional 3,204 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 1st quarter worth about $255,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of MetLife by 20.7% during the 1st 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. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Trading Down 0.2%

MetLife stock traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $77.18. 2,065,460 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,357,426. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.83. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.21 and a 52 week high of $89.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.81 billion, a PE ratio of 12.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.04). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.89% and a net margin of 6.08%. The company had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be issued a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $98.00 target price (down from $99.00) on shares of MetLife in a report on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $95.50.

MetLife Profile

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.