MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Acquired by Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in MetLife, Inc. by 7.3%, acquiring an additional 12,424 shares during the 1st quarter, bringing its total holdings to 183,316 shares worth approximately $14.69 million.
• MetLife's latest quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $2.02, missing the consensus estimate by ($0.30), and revenue decreased by 2.7% year-over-year.
• The company has initiated a stock buyback plan to repurchase up to $3.00 billion in shares, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 7.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 183,316 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 12,424 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in MetLife were worth $14,689,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 9.0% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at about $437,000. Mariner LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 148,994 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,199,000 after acquiring an additional 3,758 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 9,454 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $774,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 10,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $832,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:MET traded down $0.58 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $77.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,660,701 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,562,289. 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 current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company has a market capitalization of $51.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.85. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $77.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.77.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by ($0.30). MetLife had a return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 5.83%. 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 quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. MetLife's payout ratio is currently 38.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $97.00 price objective (up previously from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $98.00 price objective (down previously from $99.00) on shares of MetLife in a report on Monday, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $96.00.

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.