MetLife, Inc. $MET Shares Sold by Korea Investment CORP

Key Points

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Korea Investment CORP cut its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 8.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 556,461 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 54,178 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned approximately 0.08% of MetLife worth $44,678,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MET. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,240 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,451,000. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 4,430 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in MetLife by 198.0% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 81,048 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,636,000 after acquiring an additional 53,854 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its stake in MetLife by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 27,663 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,265,000 after acquiring an additional 5,815 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Stock Up 0.6%

MET stock opened at $77.77 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve month high of $89.05. The company's 50 day moving average is $77.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.60. The stock has a market cap of $51.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.18, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.85.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS 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 business had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.28 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be paid a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. MetLife's payout ratio is currently 38.47%.

MetLife declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays lifted their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.

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