Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Has $52.92 Million Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC has increased its stake in MetLife, Inc. by 49.8%, acquiring an additional 219,080 shares, bringing its total ownership to 659,158 shares valued at approximately $52.9 million.
• MetLife's recent earnings report revealed an EPS of $2.02, which missed analysts' estimates by $0.30, and noted a revenue decline of 2.7% year-over-year.
• The company has initiated a $3.00 billion share repurchase program and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5675, reflecting confidence in the stock's undervaluation.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 49.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 659,158 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 219,080 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.10% of MetLife worth $52,924,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Aberdeen Group plc raised its holdings in MetLife by 8.3% in the first quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 1,022,274 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $81,347,000 after purchasing an additional 78,069 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings 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. Horizon Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 7.8% in the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 32,342 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,578,000 after acquiring an additional 2,351 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 44.5% during the 1st quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 252,713 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $20,290,000 after purchasing an additional 77,779 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sit Investment Associates Inc. raised its holdings in MetLife by 59.7% during the 1st quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. now owns 100,491 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,068,000 after buying an additional 37,581 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET stock traded up $0.9350 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $78.6750. 2,428,652 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,409,576. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.33, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.21 and a 52 week high of $89.05. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $77.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.60.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by ($0.30). MetLife had a return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 5.83%.The firm had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.28 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in 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 typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. 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 2.9%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MET. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. 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 reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $97.00 target price (up from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $95.60.

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.