Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $87.23 Million Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in MetLife, Inc. by 9.8%, now holding 1,087,339 shares valued at approximately $87 million.
• Various hedge funds have increased their investments in MetLife, with AIA Group Ltd. growing its position by 27% during the same period.
• Brokerages are adjusting their ratings and price targets for MetLife, with Barclays setting a new price objective at $94, while Jefferies increased theirs to $103.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 9.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,087,339 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 117,528 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.16% of MetLife worth $87,231,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. North Capital Inc. bought a new position in MetLife during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Motco increased its position in MetLife by 105.5% during the 1st quarter. Motco now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased 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. UBS Group decreased their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $98.00 price target (down previously from $99.00) on shares of MetLife in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $96.00.

MetLife Price Performance

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. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.77. The company has a market capitalization of $51.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.11, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve month high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.28 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

MetLife Dividend Announcement

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

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.