Jennison Associates LLC Lowers Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Jennison Associates LLC decreased its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 6.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,073,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 200,864 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 0.46% of MetLife worth $246,763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. North Capital Inc. purchased a new position in MetLife in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays boosted their target price on MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $97.00 price target (up previously from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.50.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $77.44 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.59, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.85. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $65.21 and a one year high of $89.05. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.89% and a net margin of 6.08%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.93%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.91%.

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 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.