IFP Advisors Inc reduced its position in Metlife Inc (NYSE:MET) by 18.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,494 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Metlife were worth $233,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Metlife by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,675,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $968,331,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695,512 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Metlife by 121.2% in the 1st quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,566,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $445,293,000 after acquiring an additional 7,981,846 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Metlife by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,991,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $305,439,000 after acquiring an additional 218,203 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in Metlife by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 6,227,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $190,360,000 after acquiring an additional 107,202 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its position in Metlife by 21.4% during the 1st quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,556,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $169,858,000 after purchasing an additional 981,327 shares during the period. 74.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Several research firms have issued reports on MET. Wells Fargo & Co reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Metlife in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Metlife from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $45.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. ValuEngine cut Metlife from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Bank of America began coverage on Metlife in a research report on Monday, June 1st. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Metlife from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Metlife has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.00.
Shares of Metlife stock opened at $38.88 on Tuesday. Metlife Inc has a fifty-two week low of $22.85 and a fifty-two week high of $53.28. The firm has a market cap of $35.95 billion, a PE ratio of 7.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.33. The business’s fifty day moving average is $37.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.
Metlife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.07). Metlife had a return on equity of 7.71% and a net margin of 10.65%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Metlife Inc will post 5.49 EPS for the current year.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.73%. Metlife’s payout ratio is 30.11%.
In other news, Director Catherine R. Kinney sold 3,657 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.50, for a total transaction of $144,451.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.
Metlife Company Profile
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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