Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Reduces Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. reduced its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 29.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 164,458 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 67,707 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $13,204,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the 1st quarter worth $238,000. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 132,708 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,655,000 after buying an additional 9,393 shares in the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 211,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,949,000 after acquiring an additional 15,400 shares during the last quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 1st quarter worth about $205,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 32.0% in the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 547,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,940,000 after acquiring an additional 132,762 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Up 3.3%

Shares of MET opened at $76.25 on Monday. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.21 and a 1-year high of $89.05. The company has a 50-day moving average of $78.09 and a 200 day moving average of $78.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.92, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.30). MetLife had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 19.88%. The business had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.28 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife announced that its board has approved a stock 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 buy up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MET shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report 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 report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $97.00 target price (up previously from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.40.

About MetLife

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.