MetLife, Inc. $MET Shares Bought by Pzena Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its stake in MetLife by 6.8%, owning a total of 9,144,635 shares valued at approximately $735 million, making it the firm's 17th largest holding.
• MetLife reported $2.02 earnings per share for the most recent quarter, falling short of analysts' expectations of $2.32, and experienced a 2.7% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5675 to be paid on December 9th, representing a yield of 2.8% on an annualized basis.

Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,144,635 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 585,671 shares during the quarter. MetLife comprises approximately 2.4% of Pzena Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Pzena Investment Management LLC owned 1.36% of MetLife worth $735,412,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in MetLife by 88.2% in the 2nd quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 6,328 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $509,000 after buying an additional 2,965 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in MetLife by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 422,684 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,937,000 after purchasing an additional 19,192 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in MetLife by 52.1% in the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 9,355 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $751,000 after purchasing an additional 3,204 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc purchased a new stake in MetLife in the 1st quarter worth approximately $255,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in MetLife by 20.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 10,414 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of MET stock opened at $79.88 on Monday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $79.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.08. 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 $53.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.54, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.86. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.21 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by ($0.30). The firm 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 company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.28 EPS. Research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th will be issued a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 4th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays upped their price objective on MetLife from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $95.18.

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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