Metlife (MET) Shares Gap Down to $45.20

Shares of Metlife Inc (NYSE:MET) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $46.54, but opened at $45.20. Metlife shares last traded at $43.52, with a volume of 7179901 shares.

Several analysts have weighed in on MET shares. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Metlife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 12th. Wells Fargo & Co set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Metlife and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Metlife from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Metlife from $57.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 17th. Finally, Sandler O’Neill raised shares of Metlife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $53.16.

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The stock has a market cap of $44.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.14.

Metlife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $15.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.84 billion. Metlife had a net margin of 7.62% and a return on equity of 9.76%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Metlife Inc will post 5.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 5th will be given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 4th. Metlife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.33%.

Metlife declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

In other news, Director Carlos M. Gutierrez bought 6,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $39.04 per share, for a total transaction of $249,856.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,238.72. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MET. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Metlife by 4,191.8% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 12,828,417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 12,529,511 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Metlife by 12.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 52,498,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,452,721,000 after acquiring an additional 5,760,379 shares during the last quarter. MERIAN GLOBAL INVESTORS UK Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Metlife by 2,954.4% in the fourth quarter. MERIAN GLOBAL INVESTORS UK Ltd now owns 2,311,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,919,000 after acquiring an additional 2,236,048 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its stake in Metlife by 4,778.5% during the third quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 1,324,512 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,350,000 after buying an additional 1,297,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in Metlife by 833.5% during the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,235,142 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,711,000 after buying an additional 1,102,832 shares during the last quarter. 77.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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About Metlife (NYSE:MET)

MetLife, Inc engages in the insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management businesses. It operates through five segments: U.S.; 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, accidental death and dismemberment, vision, and accident and health coverages, as well as prepaid legal plans; administrative services-only arrangements to employers; and stable value products, including general and separate account guaranteed interest contracts, and private floating rate funding agreements.

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