Blueshift Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Key Points

• Blueshift Asset Management LLC has increased its stake in MetLife, Inc. by 99.7% during the first quarter, now holding 29,816 shares valued at approximately $2.39 million.
• MetLife has experienced various rating updates from analysts, with a significant target price from Barclays raised from $88.00 to $94.00, highlighting a generally positive outlook with a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5675 per share, reflecting a yield of 3.0% and indicating a confident financial positioning with an authorized $3 billion share repurchase plan.

Blueshift Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 99.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,816 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 14,883 shares during the quarter. MetLife makes up about 0.9% of Blueshift Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Blueshift Asset Management LLC's holdings in MetLife were worth $2,394,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MET. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in MetLife by 4.8% in the first 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 grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 52.1% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc acquired a new position in MetLife in the 1st quarter valued at about $255,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 10,414 shares during the period. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $516,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MET has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $98.00 target price (down from $99.00) on shares of MetLife in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company restated 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. Finally, 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 note on Wednesday, July 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $96.09.

MetLife Stock Up 1.6%

MET stock opened at $75.96 on Friday. 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's 50-day moving average price is $78.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.55. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.21 and a 52 week high of $89.05. The company has a market cap of $50.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.85.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.89% and a net margin of 6.08%. MetLife's revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is 36.91%.

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

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.

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