Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $311.25 Million Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in MetLife, Inc. by 0.9%, selling 36,877 shares in the first quarter, while still holding 3,876,531 shares valued at approximately $311 million.
• MetLife reported Q2 earnings of $2.02 per share, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32, along with a net revenue of $17.34 billion, which was below analyst expectations.
• The company announced a $3 billion stock repurchase plan and recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5675 per share, indicating confidence in its stock value.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,876,531 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 36,877 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.58% of MetLife worth $311,247,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 33.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 24,663,239 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,019,427,000 after purchasing an additional 6,213,923 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in 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 worth $711,597,000 after acquiring an additional 36,177 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in MetLife by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,052,202 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $577,434,000 after acquiring an additional 958,458 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in MetLife by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,434,737 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $526,869,000 after acquiring an additional 290,734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in MetLife by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,113,108 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $418,661,000 after acquiring an additional 564,383 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Price Performance

NYSE MET traded up $1.26 on Tuesday, reaching $76.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,656,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,436,330. The firm has a market cap of $51.39 billion, a PE ratio of 12.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $78.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.92. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.21 and a 52 week 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 0.57.

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). The business had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.58 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 19.88%. The business's revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.47%.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MET shares. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $97.00 price objective (up previously from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $96.00.

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.