Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Lowers Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC decreased its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 97.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,181 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 116,972 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $262,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 73.3% in the first 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. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 602.5% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 72.6% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in MetLife by 4,107.1% in the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of MetLife in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of MetLife in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.46.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $85.32 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.32, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $57.91 and a 12 month high of $86.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its 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 business 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.61 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 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.