Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Grows Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in MetLife, Inc. by 44.5%, owning 252,713 shares worth approximately $20.29 million after acquiring an additional 77,779 shares.
• MetLife's earnings report revealed an EPS of $2.02, falling short of analyst expectations, and a quarterly revenue of $17.34 billion, which was below the forecast of $18.58 billion.
• The company initiated a $3.00 billion stock buyback plan to repurchase up to 5.9% of its outstanding shares, signaling confidence in the stock's value.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 44.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 252,713 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 77,779 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in MetLife were worth $20,290,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sit Investment Associates Inc. grew its position in MetLife by 59.7% in the 1st quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. now owns 100,491 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,068,000 after acquiring an additional 37,581 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of MetLife by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 17,425 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,399,000 after buying an additional 1,099 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in shares of MetLife by 45.6% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,399 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. S Bank Fund Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the 1st quarter worth $493,000. Finally, National Pension Service grew its position in shares of MetLife by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,476,963 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $118,585,000 after buying an additional 66,639 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Stock Up 0.1%

MET stock traded up $0.1130 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $78.8330. 796,670 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,397,338. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.21 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.60. The company has a market capitalization of $52.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last issued 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). MetLife had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 19.88%. The company had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.28 EPS. MetLife's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife announced that its board has approved a share 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 purchase up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MET. Wall Street Zen downgraded MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. UBS Group dropped their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently 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.