InvesTrust Sells 53,841 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

InvesTrust trimmed its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 58.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 38,236 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 53,841 shares during the quarter. MetLife comprises about 1.2% of InvesTrust’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. InvesTrust’s holdings in MetLife were worth $3,075,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MET. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. North Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Motco increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 105.5% in the 1st quarter. Motco now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the 1st quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, American National Bank & Trust increased its stake in MetLife by 128.4% during the 1st quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $80.86 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $78.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $53.77 billion, a PE ratio of 13.70, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.87. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.21 and a 52-week high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by ($0.30). The company had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.58 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 19.88%. The business’s revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.28 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MET. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $97.00 price objective (up from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.60.

MetLife 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.