National Bank of Canada FI Raises Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in MetLife, Inc. by 32% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 132,762 shares for a total of approximately 547,319 shares valued at $43.9 million.
• MetLife's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $2.02, missing the consensus estimate by $0.30, with revenues down by 2.7% year-over-year.
• The company announced a $3.00 billion stock buyback program, indicating that its management believes the stock is undervalued.

National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 32.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 547,319 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 132,762 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 0.08% of MetLife worth $43,940,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.8% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 422,684 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,937,000 after acquiring an additional 19,192 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 52.1% in the first quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 9,355 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $751,000 after acquiring an additional 3,204 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the first quarter worth $255,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 20.7% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 60,785 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,735,000 after acquiring an additional 10,414 shares during the period. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the first quarter worth $516,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of MET stock traded up $1.26 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $76.56. 4,008,335 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,497,978. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $77.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.90. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.21 and a 52-week high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.28 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors 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 repurchase up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on MET. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen downgraded MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. UBS Group lowered their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.