Algert Global LLC Decreases Position in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Key Points

• Algert Global LLC has reduced its stake in MetLife, Inc. by 46.2%, selling 17,324 shares and retaining 20,189 shares, valued at $1,621,000 at the end of the quarter.
• MetLife's latest earnings report revealed EPS of $2.02, missing estimates by $0.30, with revenues of $17.34 billion compared to a predicted $18.58 billion.
• The company announced a $3 billion share repurchase plan, indicating management believes MetLife's shares are currently undervalued.

Algert Global LLC decreased its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 46.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,189 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 17,324 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC's holdings in MetLife were worth $1,621,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MET. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in MetLife in the 1st quarter valued at about $336,965,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife in the 1st quarter valued at about $312,946,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in MetLife by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,052,202 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $577,434,000 after acquiring an additional 958,458 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in MetLife by 8,789.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 815,889 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $65,508,000 after acquiring an additional 806,711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,265,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of NYSE:MET traded up $2.1760 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $81.4160. 3,502,666 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,660,596. 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 market cap of $54.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.85. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $77.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.49. 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 posted 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 company had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.58 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 5.83%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.28 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is 38.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MET shares. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $97.00 price target (up previously from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $95.60.

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.