MetLife, Inc. $MET Shares Sold by Acadian Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC significantly reduced its holdings in MetLife, Inc. by 73.9% in the first quarter, selling 413,968 shares to hold a total of 146,211 shares valued at approximately $11.73 million.
• MetLife's Q2 earnings showed an EPS of $2.02, missing expectations by $0.30, with a reported revenue of $17.34 billion, below analyst forecasts of $18.58 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5675, resulting in an annualized dividend of $2.27 and a yield of 2.8%, with a payout ratio of 38.47%.

Acadian Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 73.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 146,211 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 413,968 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC's holdings in MetLife were worth $11,735,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Csenge Advisory Group grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.0% in the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 13,647 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,096,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 0.9% in the first quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 14,265 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,145,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Glenview Trust co grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 0.4% in the first quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 38,333 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,078,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 2.5% during the first quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 6,463 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $519,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 0.7% during the first quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 23,661 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,900,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MET opened at $80.36 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.21 and a 1-year high of $89.05. The stock has a market cap of $53.44 billion, a PE ratio of 13.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $78.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.33.

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

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MET has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $97.00 target price (up previously from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $95.60.

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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