Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Has $70.17 Million Position in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Key Points

• The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in MetLife, Inc. by 26.2% during the first quarter, now owning approximately $70.17 million worth of the company’s shares.
• Several analysts have given MetLife a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $95.60, despite recent earnings falling below expectations.
• MetLife announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5675 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 2.8%.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 26.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 873,911 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 181,518 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 0.13% of MetLife worth $70,166,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,240 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 13,840 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,133,000 after buying an additional 1,464 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 86,719 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,101,000 after buying an additional 16,731 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co acquired a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at $749,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MET stock traded down $0.78 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $80.58. The company had a trading volume of 3,836,445 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,087,339. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.21 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.66, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.87. The firm's fifty day moving average is $78.22 and its 200 day moving average is $78.40. 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 (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.30). MetLife had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 19.88%. The company had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.28 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be paid 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 2.8%. MetLife's payout ratio is currently 38.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MET shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group lowered their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $97.00 price target (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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $95.60.

MetLife Company 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.