CW Advisors LLC Buys 12,301 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

Key Points

• CW Advisors LLC increased its holdings in MetLife, Inc. by 85.6% during the first quarter, owning 26,668 shares valued at approximately $2.17 million.
• Several institutional investors have also boosted their positions in MetLife, with Price T Rowe Associates owning over 26 million shares valued at about $2.13 billion.
• MetLife has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5675 per share, representing an annual yield of 2.8%, and initiated a $3 billion share repurchase plan.

CW Advisors LLC grew its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 85.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,668 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,301 shares during the quarter. CW Advisors LLC's holdings in MetLife were worth $2,167,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MET. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. North Capital Inc. bought a new position in MetLife in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Motco lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 105.5% in the first quarter. Motco now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 128.4% in the first quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 603 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $97.00 price objective (up from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $95.60.

MetLife Price Performance

MET traded up $0.20 on Wednesday, hitting $81.21. 2,556,691 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,630,125. 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 of $78.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.76, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.85.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by ($0.30). The company had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.58 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 5.83%.The firm's revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 2.8%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is 38.47%.

MetLife declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

About MetLife

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.