Spire Wealth Management Has $458,000 Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Spire Wealth Management lowered its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 11.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 840 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in MetLife were worth $458,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Forum Financial Management LP grew its position in shares of MetLife by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 13,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $964,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. CNB Bank raised its stake in MetLife by 9.3% in the first quarter. CNB Bank now owns 1,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC lifted its position in MetLife by 4.7% during the first quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 3,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV increased its holdings in MetLife by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV now owns 3,628 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. Argus lifted their target price on MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.00.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $77.48 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $54.26 billion, a PE ratio of 26.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.05. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $57.91 and a 52 week high of $79.34. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $72.88 and its 200-day moving average is $71.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.68 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders 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 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.91%.

About MetLife

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.