Greenleaf Trust Increases Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the quarter. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,589,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Abacus Planning Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 12,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,015,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. increased its position in MetLife by 1.7% in the third quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 8,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $705,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. 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 buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.5% in the second quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hills Bank & Trust Co raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.46.

MetLife Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of MET opened at $84.13 on Thursday. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $57.91 and a twelve month high of $86.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.91, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $79.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $17.82 billion for 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.91%.

MetLife Company 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.