Blair William & Co. IL Trims Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Blair William & Co. IL reduced its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 90,713 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,156 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in MetLife were worth $6,367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new stake in MetLife in the first quarter valued at $7,012,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 54.9% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 371,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,983,000 after buying an additional 131,538 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in MetLife by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,005,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $132,641,000 after acquiring an additional 35,782 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in MetLife during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,053,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in MetLife by 2,313.7% in the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 104,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,772,000 after acquiring an additional 100,532 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of MET opened at $80.85 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $74.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.78, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $57.91 and a one year high of $81.39.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued 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 during 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were paid a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Barclays started coverage on MetLife in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.54.

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.