Swiss National Bank Trims Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank reduced its holdings in MetLife by 1.3%, now owning approximately 1,660,000 shares worth $133.3 million.
• MetLife reported a quarterly earnings miss with earnings per share of $2.02, below the expected $2.32, and a revenue decline of 2.7% year-over-year.
• The company announced a new $3.00 billion share buyback program and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5675 per share, reflecting a 3.0% annual yield.

Swiss National Bank lowered its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,660,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 21,600 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.25% of MetLife worth $133,281,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in MetLife by 33.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 24,663,239 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,019,427,000 after purchasing an additional 6,213,923 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in MetLife by 0.4% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,862,835 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $711,597,000 after purchasing an additional 36,177 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in MetLife by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,052,202 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $577,434,000 after purchasing an additional 958,458 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,434,737 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $526,869,000 after acquiring an additional 290,734 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,113,108 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $418,661,000 after acquiring an additional 564,383 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET traded up $1.26 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $76.56. 4,008,335 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,436,813. The company has a market cap of $51.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.98, a PEG ratio of 0.67 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 firm's fifty day moving average price is $78.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.92. 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 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.58 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.28 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. MetLife's payout ratio is currently 38.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.00.

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.