CI Investments Inc. Raises Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Key Points

• CI Investments Inc. increased its MetLife stake by 28.5% in the first quarter, buying 18,264 additional shares and bringing its total position to 82,406 shares worth about $5.83 million.
• Several other large institutional investors also added to MetLife, including Vanguard and Norges Bank, and the stock is now 94.99% owned by hedge funds and other institutions.
• Analysts have turned more bullish on MetLife, with multiple firms raising price targets; the consensus rating is Moderate Buy with an average target price of $100.50, while the stock recently traded around $92.65.

CI Investments Inc. grew its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 28.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 82,406 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 18,264 shares during the quarter. CI Investments Inc.'s holdings in MetLife were worth $5,828,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $639,986,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,555,335 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,727,518,000 after acquiring an additional 7,805,814 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 11,883,338 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $938,071,000 after purchasing an additional 2,211,315 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in MetLife by 105.3% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,305,620 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $271,424,000 after purchasing an additional 1,695,563 shares during the period. Finally, Man Group plc raised its position in MetLife by 325.5% in the 2nd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 1,344,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $108,129,000 after purchasing an additional 1,028,554 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on MetLife from $87.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Atlantic Securities set a $103.00 price objective on shares of MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on MetLife from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on MetLife from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $100.50.

MetLife Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $92.65 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $86.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.45. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.33 and a twelve month high of $94.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a market capitalization of $59.61 billion, a PE ratio of 17.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.78.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.15. MetLife had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 22.60%. The firm had revenue of $14.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.49 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. The company's revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.5925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.93%.

MetLife Profile

MetLife, Inc is a global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. Headquartered in New York City, the company offers a range of risk protection and retirement solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life insurance, group benefits, retirement products such as annuities, and supplemental health products including dental and disability coverage.

In addition to traditional life and group insurance, MetLife provides workplace benefits and voluntary products distributed through employer-sponsored programs.

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