Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 15,415 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in MetLife by 7.5%, selling 15,415 shares to own a total of 189,796 shares valued at approximately $15.2 million.
• MetLife's recent earnings miss, reporting $2.02 per share against an expected $2.32, coincided with a decline in quarterly revenue by 2.7% year-over-year.
• The company initiated a $3 billion share repurchase program, allowing it to buy back up to 5.9% of its shares, reflecting the board's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 7.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 189,796 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 15,415 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in MetLife were worth $15,239,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 9.5% in the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 41,354 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,320,000 after acquiring an additional 3,592 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank raised its position in MetLife by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 210,808 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $16,926,000 after purchasing an additional 5,955 shares during the last quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC lifted its holdings in MetLife by 14.3% during the 1st quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 3,738 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 14,482 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,147,000 after buying an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of MetLife by 58.6% during the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 63,051 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,062,000 after acquiring an additional 23,297 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $81.05 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $78.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.45. The company has a market capitalization of $53.90 billion, a PE ratio of 13.74, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.85. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.21 and a 52 week high of $89.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.58 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 19.88%. MetLife's quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.28 EPS. Analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

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

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MET has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $97.00 price objective (up from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $95.60.

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.

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