Lazard Asset Management LLC Raises Holdings in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 803.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 667,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 593,705 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $47,212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth $639,986,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,555,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,727,518,000 after buying an additional 7,805,814 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 11,883,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $938,071,000 after buying an additional 2,211,315 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in MetLife by 133.5% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,098,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $219,136,000 after acquiring an additional 1,771,689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in MetLife by 105.3% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,305,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $271,424,000 after acquiring an additional 1,695,563 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MET stock opened at $95.21 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The company has a market capitalization of $61.26 billion, a PE ratio of 18.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $87.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.64. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.33 and a 12 month high of $96.00.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.49 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 22.60%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. Analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be issued a $0.5925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on MetLife from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Mizuho increased their price target on MetLife from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on MetLife from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on MetLife from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.50.

MetLife Profile

MetLife, Inc is a global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. Headquartered in New York City, the company offers a range of risk protection and retirement solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life insurance, group benefits, retirement products such as annuities, and supplemental health products including dental and disability coverage.

In addition to traditional life and group insurance, MetLife provides workplace benefits and voluntary products distributed through employer-sponsored programs.