Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Grows Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Key Points

• Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its stake in MetLife, Inc. by 5.5% during the first quarter, now owning 130,058 shares valued at approximately $10,442,000.
• MetLife reported $1.96 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing analysts’ estimates, while revenue was up 15.6% year-over-year, totaling $18.57 billion.
• The company has approved a $3.00 billion share repurchase plan, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued, and recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5675 per share with a yield of 2.89%.

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 5.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 130,058 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,771 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ's holdings in MetLife were worth $10,442,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MET. Brighton Jones LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $216,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 36,601 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,997,000 after purchasing an additional 8,709 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 45.4% during the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,341 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 94,737 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,757,000 after purchasing an additional 2,913 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MET stock traded down $1.39 on Wednesday, hitting $76.29. 621,592 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,340,571. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $51.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.42, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.62. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.21 and a 52 week high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 20.89%. The business's revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program 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 repurchase up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be issued a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of MetLife from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $97.00 price target (up previously from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $96.09.

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.