Valley National Advisers Inc. Sells 466 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Valley National Advisers Inc. cut its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 46.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 466 shares during the quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $44,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its position in MetLife by 374.3% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 602.5% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in MetLife by 72.6% in the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in MetLife by 98.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen started coverage on MetLife in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.46.

MetLife Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $83.07 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.48 and a 12-month high of $86.94. The company has a market cap of $59.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.55, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $80.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.60.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 21.41%. MetLife’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.58 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.