National Pension Service Purchases 66,639 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its stake in MetLife, Inc. by 4.7%, owning approximately 1,476,963 shares worth $118.6 million at the end of the first quarter.
• MetLife recently reported disappointing earnings of $2.02 per share, missing analysts' estimates of $2.32, with a revenue decline of 2.7% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5675 per share, representing a yield of 2.9%, and initiated a $3 billion share buyback program.

National Pension Service lifted its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 4.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,476,963 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 66,639 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.22% of MetLife worth $118,585,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. North Capital Inc. bought a new position in MetLife during the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Motco increased its stake in MetLife by 105.5% during the first quarter. Motco now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of MetLife stock traded down $0.58 on Friday, hitting $77.34. 2,660,701 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,562,289. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $77.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.43 billion, a PE ratio of 13.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.85. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $65.21 and a one year high of $89.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

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

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

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MET. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $97.00 price objective (up from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group reduced their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $96.00.

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.