AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Has $73.95 Million Stake in MetLife, Inc. $MET

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc trimmed its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 7.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 897,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 73,546 shares during the period. MetLife makes up about 0.9% of AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc owned 0.14% of MetLife worth $73,946,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in MetLife by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 10,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in MetLife by 188.1% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 417,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,577,000 after purchasing an additional 272,619 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 88.2% during the second quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 6,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $509,000 after buying an additional 2,965 shares during the last quarter. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,608,000. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in MetLife by 256.8% in the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 62,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,161,000 after buying an additional 45,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Down 1.5%

NYSE:MET opened at $75.78 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 0.18. The company has a market cap of $49.93 billion, a PE ratio of 14.27, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.76. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.21 and a 52-week high of $87.93. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.82.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $12.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.64 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.00% and a net margin of 5.30%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.95 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be given a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MET. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Mizuho set a $102.00 price target on shares of MetLife in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI set a $97.00 price objective on shares of MetLife and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. UBS Group reduced their target price on MetLife from $95.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.27.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc is a global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. Headquartered in New York City, the company offers a range of risk protection and retirement solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life insurance, group benefits, retirement products such as annuities, and supplemental health products including dental and disability coverage.

In addition to traditional life and group insurance, MetLife provides workplace benefits and voluntary products distributed through employer-sponsored programs.