Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Grows Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Key Points

• Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. significantly increased its stake in MetLife, Inc. by 217.0% during the first quarter, acquiring a total of 22,827 shares valued at $1.83 million.
• MetLife reported earnings of $2.02 per share for the last quarter, falling short of analyst expectations by $0.30, with revenues down 2.7% year-over-year.
• The company's Board of Directors has approved a $3.00 billion share buyback plan, indicating management's belief that its stock is currently undervalued.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. grew its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 217.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,827 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 15,627 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.'s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,830,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in MetLife by 4.8% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 422,684 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,937,000 after buying an additional 19,192 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in MetLife by 52.1% during the first quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 9,355 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $751,000 after buying an additional 3,204 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc purchased a new position in MetLife during the first quarter worth approximately $255,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in MetLife by 20.7% during 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 buying an additional 10,414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in MetLife during the first quarter worth approximately $516,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $77.77 on Tuesday. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve month high of $89.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.72 billion, a PE ratio of 13.18, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.85.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 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 analyst estimates of $18.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.28 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be paid a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. MetLife's payout ratio is presently 38.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MET shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Barclays lifted their price objective on MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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, August 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $95.60.

MetLife Company 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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