LSV Asset Management Sells 179,980 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

LSV Asset Management reduced its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 6.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,467,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 179,980 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned 0.35% of MetLife worth $182,853,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in MetLife by 678.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 287,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,000,000 after buying an additional 250,402 shares in the last quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new stake in MetLife during the 1st quarter worth about $7,012,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,824,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $120,661,000 after purchasing an additional 293,925 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,664,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $176,304,000 after purchasing an additional 240,564 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH grew its stake in MetLife by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 742,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,088,000 after buying an additional 86,091 shares during the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Performance

MetLife stock traded up $0.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $73.39. The company had a trading volume of 3,810,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,374,319. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.70 and a 12-month high of $74.68. The company’s fifty day moving average is $71.09 and its 200-day moving average is $70.38. The company has a market capitalization of $52.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.11.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83. The firm had revenue of $17.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.73 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.39% and a net margin of 3.50%. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.61 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 6th. MetLife’s payout ratio is 74.91%.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.23.

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.