Meeder Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Key Points

• Meeder Asset Management Inc. significantly reduced its holdings in MetLife, Inc. by 90.6% in the first quarter, leaving it with 9,941 shares valued at $798,000 after selling 96,065 shares.
• MetLife has initiated a $3.00 billion stock buyback plan, indicating that the company's board believes its stock is currently undervalued.
• The company reported earnings of $1.96 EPS for the quarter, which missed the consensus estimate, but revenue increased by 15.6% to $18.57 billion compared to the same period last year.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 90.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,941 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 96,065 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in MetLife were worth $798,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in MetLife by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,240 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in MetLife by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 34,437 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,820,000 after acquiring an additional 2,861 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 328,964 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,814,000 after buying an additional 14,582 shares during the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,225 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $592,000 after buying an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 19,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,575,000 after buying an additional 988 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MetLife stock traded down $1.95 on Friday, hitting $74.00. 4,383,241 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,390,276. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $78.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.55. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.21 and a 1-year high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 20.89%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be given 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 yield of 3.1%. MetLife's payout ratio is presently 36.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on MET. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $98.00 price objective (down previously from $99.00) on shares of MetLife in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $97.00 price target (up previously from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $96.09.

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.