Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC cut its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 62.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 62,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 102,644 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $4,372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 73.3% in the 1st quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in MetLife during the second quarter valued at $39,000. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its position in MetLife by 602.5% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on MET shares. Argus boosted their price objective on MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.54.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $75.48 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $57.91 and a one year 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.15.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted 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. The company 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. Analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.67 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.