Baird Financial Group Inc. Buys 19,724 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in MetLife, Inc. by 3.7%, acquiring an additional 19,724 shares to hold a total of 547,828 shares valued at approximately $44 million.
• MetLife reported earnings of $2.02 per share, missing the consensus estimate by 30 cents, with quarterly revenue of $17.34 billion, which was also below expectations.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5675 per share, representing a 2.8% yield, set to be paid on September 9th.

Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 3.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 547,828 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 19,724 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of MetLife worth $43,985,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

MetLife Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $81.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.14 billion, a PE ratio of 13.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.85. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.21 and a 52-week high of $89.05. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.41.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.58 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 5.83%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.28 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. MetLife's payout ratio is presently 38.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $97.00 price objective (up previously from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus 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.

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