Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Cuts Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. reduced its stake in MetLife, Inc. by 29.2%, selling 67,707 shares and now holding 164,458 shares worth approximately $13.2 million.
• MetLife's shares opened at $76.25, with a 1-year high of $89.05 and a reported earnings miss of $2.02 EPS against an estimate of $2.32 for the last quarter.
• The company recently announced a $3.00 billion stock repurchase plan, indicating the board's belief that its stock is currently undervalued.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lessened its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 29.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 164,458 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 67,707 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in MetLife were worth $13,204,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. North Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in MetLife in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Motco raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 105.5% during the first quarter. Motco now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

MET traded up $0.58 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $77.94. The company had a trading volume of 2,273,893 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,425,780. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $51.83 billion, a PE ratio of 13.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.85. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.21 and a 12-month high of $89.05. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $77.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.89.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.28 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is 38.47%.

MetLife announced that its board has authorized a share 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 reacquire up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MET. Barclays increased their price objective on MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $97.00 price target (up from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $98.00 price target (down from $99.00) on shares of MetLife in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $96.00.

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.