Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. Raises Stake in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Key Points

• Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in MetLife by 7.5% during the second quarter, now holding 88,354 shares valued at approximately $7.1 million.
• MetLife's recent quarterly earnings fell short of expectations, reporting $2.02 EPS against a consensus estimate of $2.32, with revenues also declining by 2.7% year-over-year.
• Wall Street analysts maintain a "Moderate Buy" consensus rating for MetLife, with an average price target of $94.64, despite mixed ratings and target price adjustments by various financial institutions.

Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 88,354 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 6,159 shares during the quarter. MetLife makes up approximately 1.2% of Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings in MetLife were worth $7,105,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. River Street Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 19,876 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,598,000 after acquiring an additional 659 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust lifted its stake in MetLife by 48.5% in the second quarter. Crews Bank & Trust now owns 2,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in MetLife during the second quarter valued at $608,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in MetLife by 6.0% in the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 64,424 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,181,000 after buying an additional 3,639 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lecap Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 107.0% in the second quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 32,208 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,590,000 after buying an additional 16,647 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the subject of several recent research reports. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.64.

MetLife Price Performance

NYSE:MET opened at $81.34 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.21 and a 52-week high of $89.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $79.03 and a 200 day moving average of $78.20. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $54.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.86.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last released 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). The business had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.58 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 19.88%. The business's revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.28 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.47%.

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.

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