MetLife, Inc. $MET Stock Holdings Increased by Allstate Corp

Key Points

• Allstate Corp increased its holdings in MetLife, Inc. by 42.7% in the first quarter, owning 25,132 shares valued at approximately $2.018 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• MetLife reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.02, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32, with quarterly revenue of $17.34 billion, down 2.7% year-over-year.
• The company initiated a $3 billion stock repurchase plan, allowing for the buyback of up to 5.9% of its outstanding shares, indicating management's belief that the shares are undervalued.

Allstate Corp grew its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 42.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,132 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,526 shares during the quarter. Allstate Corp's holdings in MetLife were worth $2,018,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MET. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in MetLife by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,406,512 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $594,410,000 after buying an additional 259,993 shares in the last quarter. Norinchukin Bank The lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 31,719 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,547,000 after acquiring an additional 4,303 shares during the period. CW Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 85.6% in the 1st quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 26,668 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,167,000 after acquiring an additional 12,301 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 7.6% in the first quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 21,685 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,741,000 after acquiring an additional 1,536 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 7.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,488,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,126,734,000 after acquiring an additional 1,824,907 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Trading Up 2.7%

NYSE:MET opened at $81.4160 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.85. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.21 and a 1-year high of $89.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.30). MetLife had a return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 5.83%.The company had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.28 EPS. MetLife's quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

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

MetLife Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MET has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on MetLife from $98.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 18th. 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 note on Thursday, August 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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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