USS Investment Management Ltd Has $6.63 Million Holdings in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Key Points

• USS Investment Management Ltd has reduced its stake in MetLife, Inc. by 41.4%, selling 58,400 shares and holding 82,529 shares worth $6.6 million as of the latest quarter.
• MetLife reported a missed earnings estimate with an EPS of $2.02, below the expected $2.32, and its revenue fell 2.7% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5675 per share, leading to a dividend yield of 2.9% and a payout ratio of 38.47%.

USS Investment Management Ltd lowered its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 41.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 82,529 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 58,400 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in MetLife were worth $6,625,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc acquired a new stake in MetLife in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $255,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in MetLife in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $516,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of MetLife stock traded up $0.58 during trading on Friday, reaching $80.92. 1,415,447 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,347,088. 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 twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve month high of $89.05. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $78.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.87.

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). MetLife had a return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 5.83%.The company had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.28 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 2.8%. MetLife's payout ratio is 38.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on MetLife from $98.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Barclays lifted 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. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $95.60.

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.