MetLife, Inc. $MET Stock Position Reduced by UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC

Key Points

• UBS Asset Management has reduced its stake in MetLife by 2.6%, now holding 4,981,230 shares worth approximately $399.94 million.
• MetLife's stock is currently trading at $79.32 with a market capitalization of $52.75 billion and a recent earnings report indicating lower than expected earnings per share.
• The company has also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5675, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.9%.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC reduced its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,981,230 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 131,878 shares during the quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned approximately 0.74% of MetLife worth $399,943,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. North Capital Inc. acquired a new position in MetLife during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Motco increased its position in MetLife by 105.5% during the first 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. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in MetLife during the first quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, American National Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 128.4% in 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 during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of MET stock traded up $0.52 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $80.86. The company had a trading volume of 2,314,200 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,642,683. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve month high of $89.05. The company has a market capitalization of $53.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.87. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $78.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.32.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). MetLife had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 19.88%. The company had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.28 EPS. MetLife's quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MET has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. UBS Group decreased their target price 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 reduced their price objective on MetLife from $98.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $95.60.

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.