AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Purchases 237,611 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lifted its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 30.5% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,017,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 237,611 shares during the quarter. MetLife accounts for about 1.2% of AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings in MetLife were worth $81,646,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MET shares. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group raised their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.17.

MetLife Stock Up 0.0%

MET opened at $78.61 on Tuesday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.21 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The company has a market cap of $52.77 billion, a PE ratio of 13.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a 50 day moving average of $76.29 and a 200 day moving average of $80.94.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.04). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. The firm had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share. MetLife’s revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.91%.

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.