MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Purchased by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in MetLife, purchasing 123,947 shares to boost its position by 13.4%, bringing its total ownership to approximately 1,050,921 shares worth $84.37 million.
• MetLife recently reported earnings of $2.02 EPS for the quarter, falling short of the expected $2.32 EPS and seeing a 2.7% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5675 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.0% with a payout ratio of 38.47%.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 13.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,050,921 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 123,947 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.16% of MetLife worth $84,378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MET. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. North Capital Inc. bought a new stake in MetLife in the first quarter worth $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Motco lifted its position in MetLife by 105.5% in the first quarter. Motco now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $98.00 target price (down from $99.00) on shares of MetLife in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Barclays lifted their price objective on MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $97.00 target price (up from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $96.00.

MetLife Stock Performance

MetLife stock traded down $0.96 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $75.32. The company had a trading volume of 4,414,723 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,435,356. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.21 and a 12-month high of $89.05. The company's fifty day moving average is $78.09 and its 200-day moving average is $78.99. The company has a market capitalization of $50.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.85.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). MetLife had a return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 5.83%. The company had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.28 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be issued a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. MetLife's payout ratio is presently 38.47%.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

About MetLife

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.