Norinchukin Bank The Has $2.55 Million Holdings in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Key Points

• Norinchukin Bank increased its stake in MetLife by 15.7%, bringing its total ownership to 31,719 shares valued at approximately $2.55 million as of the first quarter.
• Several hedge funds have also adjusted their positions in MetLife, with significant increases from firms such as First Trust Advisors LP who boosted their holdings by 198% in the fourth quarter.
• MetLife's quarterly earnings report revealed an EPS of $2.02, falling short of analysts' expectations of $2.32, with a subsequent consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $95.60.

Norinchukin Bank The raised its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 15.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,719 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,303 shares during the quarter. Norinchukin Bank The's holdings in MetLife were worth $2,547,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. North Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Motco grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 105.5% during the 1st quarter. Motco now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 128.4% during the 1st quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 603 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MET has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group cut their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $97.00 price objective (up from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $95.60.

MetLife Price Performance

MET traded up $0.20 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $81.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,532,664 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,380,482. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.85. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.21 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $78.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.45.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last released its 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). The firm had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.58 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 5.83%.The company's revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. MetLife's payout ratio is presently 38.47%.

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

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.