Vontobel Holding Ltd. Reduces Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lessened its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 7.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 68,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,332 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $5,672,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Integrated Advisors Network LLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 3,963 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in MetLife by 7.5% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 13,433 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $996,000 after acquiring an additional 942 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. raised its position in MetLife by 2.9% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 10,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $745,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 17.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,986 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its position in shares of MetLife by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Up 0.6 %

MET opened at $85.69 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $60.94 billion, a PE ratio of 29.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $57.91 and a 52 week high of $86.94.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. The company had revenue of $17.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be given a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on MET. Citigroup lifted their target price on MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.46.

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.