Private Advisor Group LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Private Advisor Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 15.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 79,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,916 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $6,580,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MET. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in MetLife by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 2,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $175,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management raised its position in MetLife by 30.5% in the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 7,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $559,000 after purchasing an additional 1,762 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its position in MetLife by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 11,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $875,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife in the 1st quarter valued at about $286,000. Finally, Vicus Capital acquired a new stake in MetLife in the 1st quarter valued at about $407,000. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on MET. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Barclays began coverage on MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price target on MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America cut their target price on MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.46.

MetLife Trading Down 2.3 %

MET opened at $82.39 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $58.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $57.91 and a 52 week high of $86.94. The business’s 50 day moving average is $79.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.43. 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 results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.58 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be paid a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. 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.