Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Grows Position in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Key Points

• Generali Asset Management SPA SGR significantly increased its holding in MetLife by 251.6% in Q2, now owning 20,803 shares worth $1.67 million.
• MetLife reported Q2 earnings of $2.02 per share, missed estimates by $0.30, and experienced a 2.7% revenue decline year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5675 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 2.9%.

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR raised its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 251.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,803 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 14,886 shares during the quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR's holdings in MetLife were worth $1,673,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MET. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 88.2% during the second quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 6,328 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $509,000 after purchasing an additional 2,965 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 19,192 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the 1st quarter valued at about $255,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 10,414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in MetLife during the first quarter worth approximately $516,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of MET stock opened at $78.55 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $52.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The business's 50 day moving average is $80.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.11. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve month high of $89.05.

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

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th will be issued a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 4th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. MetLife's payout ratio is presently 38.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on MetLife from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $95.18.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.