MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Bought by Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC increased its stake in MetLife, Inc. by 21% in Q1, owning 20,728 shares valued at approximately $1.66 million, making it the 29th largest position in their portfolio.
• MetLife reported earnings miss of $2.02 EPS for the latest quarter, falling short of analysts' expectations of $2.32, with revenue also declining year-over-year.
• The company announced a $3 billion share repurchase program, indicating confidence in the company's valuation and a quarterly dividend of $0.5675 per share, representing a 3.0% yield.

Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC increased its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 21.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,728 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,600 shares during the period. MetLife makes up about 0.8% of Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC's holdings in MetLife were worth $1,664,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. AIA Group Ltd grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 20,842 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,673,000 after acquiring an additional 4,432 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 27,099 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,176,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the period. SouthState Corp grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 2,096 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $168,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 1st quarter worth approximately $312,946,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,689,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $97.00 price target (up previously from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $98.00 target price (down previously from $99.00) on shares of MetLife in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group reduced their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $96.00.

MetLife Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $75.32 on Tuesday. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.21 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05. The firm has a market cap of $50.56 billion, a PE ratio of 12.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.85. The business's fifty day moving average is $78.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.92. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 5.83%. The business had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.28 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is 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 dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.47%.

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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