Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 97,934 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Victory Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 16.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 491,303 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 97,934 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of MetLife worth $34,485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 13,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $964,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co lifted its stake 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 worth $130,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. CNB Bank lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. CNB Bank now owns 1,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $129,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marcum Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 3,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $74.63 on Wednesday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.91 and a 12-month high of $79.34. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.18. The company has a market capitalization of $53.07 billion, a PE ratio of 25.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.04. 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 announced its quarterly 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. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. The business had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.57 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were issued a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Argus raised their price target on MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Barclays initiated coverage on MetLife in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.54.

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.