MetLife, Inc. $MET Shares Acquired by Edgar Lomax Co. VA

Key Points

• Edgar Lomax Co. VA increased its stake in MetLife, Inc. by 91.6% in the first quarter, now holding 294,605 shares valued at approximately $23.65 million.
• MetLife recently reported earnings of $2.02 per share, missing analyst expectations by $0.30, with revenues of $17.34 billion for the quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5675 per share, representing a 2.9% yield, along with a $3 billion share buyback plan, indicating confidence in its stock valuation.

Edgar Lomax Co. VA raised its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 91.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 294,605 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 140,855 shares during the quarter. MetLife accounts for 1.5% of Edgar Lomax Co. VA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Edgar Lomax Co. VA's holdings in MetLife were worth $23,654,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in MetLife by 33.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 24,663,239 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,019,427,000 after purchasing an additional 6,213,923 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 36,177 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of MetLife by 0.8% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,109,423 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $570,816,000 after purchasing an additional 57,221 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of MetLife by 3.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,671,435 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $535,568,000 after purchasing an additional 236,698 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of MetLife by 1.4% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,462,541 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $518,877,000 after purchasing an additional 87,344 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group decreased their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Barclays increased their price target on MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen cut MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $97.00 price objective (up from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $96.00.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $77.34 on Monday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $77.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.66. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.21 and a 1-year high of $89.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.30). MetLife had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 19.88%. The company had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.28 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. MetLife's payout ratio is 38.47%.

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

MetLife 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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