Strs Ohio Makes New Investment in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has made a significant investment in MetLife, acquiring 313,810 shares valued at approximately $25.2 million during the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including First Horizon Advisors and Ritholtz Wealth Management, increased their stakes in MetLife, which is now 94.99% owned by institutions.
• MetLife recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5675 per share, yielding 2.8%, with a payout ratio currently at 38.47%.

Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 313,810 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $25,196,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 422,684 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,937,000 after buying an additional 19,192 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 52.1% in the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 9,355 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $751,000 after buying an additional 3,204 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 1st quarter valued at $255,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 20.7% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 60,785 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,735,000 after buying an additional 10,414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 1st quarter valued at $516,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MET shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $95.60.

MetLife Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $80.86 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $53.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $78.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.32. 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 1-year low of $65.21 and a 1-year high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.58 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 5.83%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.47%.

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.

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