Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Takes $222,000 Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 33.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 24,663,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,019,427,000 after purchasing an additional 6,213,923 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,931,536 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $973,901,000 after acquiring an additional 158,107 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $730,716,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in MetLife by 109.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $722,727,000 after purchasing an additional 4,606,748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in MetLife by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,052,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $577,434,000 after purchasing an additional 958,458 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $77.82 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.24 billion, a PE ratio of 13.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $77.09 and a 200-day moving average of $81.22. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.21 and a 52-week high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $18.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 36.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on MetLife from $109.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.69.

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.