Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Purchases New Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 4,196,844 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $336,965,000. MetLife comprises approximately 1.5% of Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.62% of MetLife at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in MetLife by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 422,684 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,937,000 after acquiring an additional 19,192 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in MetLife by 52.1% during the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 9,355 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $751,000 after acquiring an additional 3,204 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc bought a new position in MetLife during the 1st quarter worth $255,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in MetLife by 20.7% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 60,785 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,735,000 after purchasing an additional 10,414 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in MetLife during the 1st quarter worth $516,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of MetLife stock traded up $0.74 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $78.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,227,602 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,461,158. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $65.21 and a one year high of $89.05. The company has a market capitalization of $52.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.85. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $78.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, 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, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.04). MetLife had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 20.89%. The business had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.06 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

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 is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $97.00 price objective (up previously from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of MetLife from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $96.09.

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.