MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Financial Advocates Investment Management

Financial Advocates Investment Management reduced its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,359 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 563 shares during the quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in MetLife were worth $236,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 18,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,226,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated purchased a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at about $230,000. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 13,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $917,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in MetLife by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 4,607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC acquired a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth $750,000. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE MET opened at $76.73 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $54.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.05. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $57.91 and a 12 month high of $79.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company has a 50-day moving average of $72.53 and a 200-day moving average of $71.68.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $17.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 21.41%. MetLife’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MET has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.00.

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.