Forsta AP Fonden Buys 15,400 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden increased its stake in MetLife, Inc. by 7.9%, holding 211,100 shares valued at approximately $16.95 million.
• MetLife announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5675 per share, with a projected annual yield of 3.0% for shareholders of record on August 5th.
• Recent earnings showed a missed consensus estimate, reporting $2.02 EPS against the expected $2.32, alongside a year-over-year revenue decline of 2.7%.

Forsta AP Fonden boosted its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 7.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 211,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 15,400 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in MetLife were worth $16,949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in MetLife by 33.7% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 6,213,923 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in MetLife by 0.4% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,862,835 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $711,597,000 after acquiring an additional 36,177 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in MetLife by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,052,202 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $577,434,000 after acquiring an additional 958,458 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in MetLife by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,434,737 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $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 boosted its holdings in MetLife by 12.4% in the fourth 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 valued at $418,661,000 after acquiring an additional 564,383 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:MET traded down $0.96 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $75.32. 4,414,723 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,383,500. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $50.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.85. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $65.21 and a one year high of $89.05. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $78.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.99.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $17.34 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.47%.

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 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on 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 reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $97.00 target price (up previously from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MetLife has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.