Bank of Montreal Can Sells 738,855 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Bank of Montreal Can lowered its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 46.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 854,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 738,855 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in MetLife were worth $61,137,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MET. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in MetLife by 347.4% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 432,887 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,384,000 after buying an additional 336,127 shares in the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 2nd quarter valued at $789,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in MetLife by 68.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $217,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in MetLife by 79.0% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 28.0% during the second quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,054,000 after purchasing an additional 3,284 shares in the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Up 0.4 %

MetLife stock opened at $80.74 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $56.54 billion, a PE ratio of 27.75, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.91 and a 12-month high of $81.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $74.90 and its 200 day moving average is $72.78. 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 (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.15. MetLife had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The company had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 74.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MET. Citigroup upped their price objective on MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.54.

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.