MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Bought by Headlands Technologies LLC

Key Points

• Headlands Technologies LLC significantly increased its stake in MetLife, Inc. by 936.5%, acquiring a total of 16,263 shares worth $1.3 million as part of its first-quarter investment strategy.
• MetLife reported quarterly earnings of $2.02 per share, which missed analyst estimates of $2.32, alongside a revenue of $17.34 billion, also below forecasts of $18.58 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5675 per share, yielding approximately 3.1%, with a planned stock repurchase program allowing the buyback of up to $3 billion worth of its shares, reflecting beliefs of undervaluation by the board.

Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 936.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,263 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,694 shares during the quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC's holdings in MetLife were worth $1,306,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MET. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. North Capital Inc. purchased a new position in MetLife in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Motco raised its holdings in MetLife by 105.5% during the first quarter. Motco now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET opened at $73.78 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.21 and a 1 year high of $89.05. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $78.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.17. The company has a market capitalization of $49.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.51, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share 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 19.72%. The business had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.28 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are 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 $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on MET shares. Wall Street Zen lowered MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $98.00 price objective (down from $99.00) on shares of MetLife in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $95.40.

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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