Gotham Asset Management LLC Buys 5,510 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 15.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 42,227 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,510 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in MetLife were worth $3,458,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth $730,716,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in MetLife by 33.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 24,663,239 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,019,427,000 after acquiring an additional 6,213,923 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in MetLife by 109.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $722,727,000 after acquiring an additional 4,606,748 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in MetLife by 43.7% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,663,177 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $463,701,000 after acquiring an additional 1,723,461 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its stake in MetLife by 76.0% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,466,808 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $283,862,000 after acquiring an additional 1,496,645 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MET traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $80.80. 2,976,499 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,411,606. The company has a market cap of $54.24 billion, a PE ratio of 13.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.21 and a 52-week high of $89.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $77.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.04). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. The company had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. This is an increase from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is 36.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $92.69.

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.