MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Position Trimmed by Moran Wealth Management LLC

Moran Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,359 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,292 shares during the quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,508,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new position in MetLife during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 47.6% in the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 484 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on MET. StockNews.com began coverage on MetLife in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on MetLife from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 2nd. Argus boosted their target price on MetLife from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on MetLife from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 15th. Finally, Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $71.00 target price on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.45.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $62.51 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.98, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.06. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $48.95 and a one year high of $77.36.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $15.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.49 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 19.14%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 28.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 9th will be given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 8th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.47%.

MetLife Profile

MetLife, Inc, a financial services company, provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management services worldwide. 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, 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.