Quantbot Technologies LP Buys Shares of 12,552 MetLife, Inc. $MET

Key Points

• Quantbot Technologies LP has acquired a new position in MetLife, purchasing 12,552 shares valued at approximately $1.01 million during the first quarter.
• MetLife reported a missed earnings estimate for the last quarter, posting $2.02 EPS, falling short of analysts' expectations of $2.32.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5675, translating to a dividend yield of 2.8%, to be paid on September 9th.

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 12,552 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,008,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in MetLife by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,240 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,451,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in MetLife by 198.0% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 81,048 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,636,000 after acquiring an additional 53,854 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $650,000. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 8,519 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $698,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MET. Barclays lifted their price target on MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. UBS Group decreased their target price on 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 MetLife from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $95.60.

MetLife Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of MetLife stock traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $80.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,020,510 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,373,569. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.69, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.21 and a 1-year high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.58 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 5.83%.The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.28 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.47%.

MetLife announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's management 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.