Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 13.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,050,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 123,947 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $84,378,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Eagle Strategies LLC increased its position in MetLife by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 2,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 13,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,096,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in MetLife by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 6,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $519,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Unigestion Holding SA raised its stake in MetLife by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 23,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,900,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, Davis R M Inc. raised its stake in MetLife by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Up 3.3%

MetLife stock opened at $76.25 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $51.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.92, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.21 and a 1 year high of $89.05. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $78.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.10.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by ($0.30). MetLife had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 19.95%. The business had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.58 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

MetLife Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MET shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $98.00 target price (down previously from $99.00) on shares of MetLife in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.40.

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.