Johnson Financial Group LLC Makes New Investment in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Johnson Financial Group LLC bought a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $238,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Eagle Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 2,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group grew its position in shares of MetLife by 1.0% in the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 13,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,096,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in shares of MetLife by 2.5% in the first quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 6,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $519,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Unigestion Holding SA grew its position in shares of MetLife by 0.7% in the first quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 23,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,900,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Davis R M Inc. grew its position in shares of MetLife by 5.3% in the first quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Up 3.3%

Shares of MET stock opened at $76.25 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $78.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.10. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.21 and a 12-month high of $89.05. The firm has a market cap of $51.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.85.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.30). MetLife had a return on equity of 19.95% and a net margin of 5.83%. The firm had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.28 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be paid a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. MetLife’s payout ratio is 38.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MET shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on MetLife from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.40.

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.