Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Increases Stake in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management increased its stake in MetLife, Inc. by 9.4%, acquiring an additional 6,493 shares during the 2nd quarter, bringing its total holdings to 75,554 shares valued at approximately $6,076,000.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for MetLife, with Barclays and JPMorgan Chase both setting targets above $90, while Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from "buy" to "hold".
• MetLife recently reported disappointing earnings, with an EPS of $2.02 missing the consensus estimate by $0.30, and revenue of $17.34 billion falling short of expectations.

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 75,554 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 6,493 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in MetLife were worth $6,076,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. North Capital Inc. bought a new stake in MetLife during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Motco grew its position in MetLife by 105.5% during the first quarter. Motco now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the first quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, American National Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in MetLife by 128.4% during the first quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 603 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on MET. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $97.00 target price (up previously from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of MetLife to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $94.64.

MetLife Price Performance

MetLife stock traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $79.16. 8,848,968 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,039,976. The company has a market cap of $52.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.42, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $78.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.21 and a 12-month high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.58 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 19.88%. MetLife's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.28 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio 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.