AGF Management Ltd. Increases Stake in MetLife, Inc. $MET

AGF Management Ltd. increased its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 17.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 188,685 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,050 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $15,542,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in MetLife during the first quarter worth $307,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 187.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,680,000 after acquiring an additional 21,771 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the 2nd quarter valued at $404,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of MetLife by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 64,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,181,000 after acquiring an additional 3,639 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $79.86 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $78.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.04, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.76. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.21 and a 12-month high of $87.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.07. MetLife had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 21.00%. The firm had revenue of $12.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.95 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be issued 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 dividend yield of 2.8%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on MET. UBS Group cut their target price on MetLife from $95.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Evercore ISI set a $97.00 price objective on shares of MetLife and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays set a $90.00 target price on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $101.00 target price on shares of MetLife and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $95.27.

MetLife Company Profile

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.