Swedbank AB Increases Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Key Points

• Swedbank AB increased its holdings in MetLife, Inc. by 11.6%, acquiring an additional 329,582 shares, bringing its total to 3,161,390 shares valued at approximately $254 million.
• MetLife reported earnings of $2.02 per share for the last quarter, missing estimates by $0.30, with a revenue decline of 2.7% year-over-year.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5675, representing an annualized dividend of $2.27 and a yield of 2.9%, with a payout ratio of 38.47%.

Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,161,390 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 329,582 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned 0.47% of MetLife worth $254,239,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in MetLife by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,488,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,126,734,000 after acquiring an additional 1,824,907 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 0.4% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,862,835 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $711,597,000 after buying an additional 36,177 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in MetLife by 3.6% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,406,512 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $594,410,000 after buying an additional 259,993 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 0.8% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,109,423 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $570,816,000 after purchasing an additional 57,221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,671,435 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $535,568,000 after purchasing an additional 236,698 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of NYSE MET traded up $1.91 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $81.07. The company had a trading volume of 1,431,120 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,398,032. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.09. The stock has a market cap of $53.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.73, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.87. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 5.83%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.28 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 payout ratio is presently 38.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MET shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 11th. UBS Group cut their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $94.64.

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.