Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Purchases Shares of 27,054 MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise has invested approximately $2.17 million in MetLife, acquiring 27,054 shares of the company in the first quarter.
• MetLife recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5675 per share, with a yield of 2.92%, set to be paid on September 9th.
• The company also initiated a $3.00 billion stock buyback plan, indicating that its leadership believes the shares are currently undervalued.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 27,054 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,172,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew 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 buying an additional 19,192 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in MetLife by 52.1% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc purchased a new stake in MetLife in the 1st quarter valued at $255,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in MetLife by 20.7% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 60,785 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,735,000 after buying an additional 10,414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in MetLife in the 1st quarter valued at $516,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Down 2.6%

MET traded down $1.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $74.00. 4,383,241 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,390,276. The firm's fifty day moving average is $78.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.55. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.21 and a 1-year high of $89.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $49.68 billion, a PE ratio of 12.03, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.85.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. MetLife's revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be given a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.91%.

MetLife announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MET has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $97.00 target price (up from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on MetLife from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed 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. Barclays upped their price target on MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $96.09.

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.