Rhumbline Advisers Decreases Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Rhumbline Advisers cut its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,288,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 40,775 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in MetLife were worth $90,469,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MET. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 73.3% during the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 602.5% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advantage Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $77.80 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $54.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.74, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.05. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $57.91 and a fifty-two week high of $79.34. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $73.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.95. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. 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 previous year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.68 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be paid a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 74.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their price target on MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on MetLife from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. Citigroup raised their price objective on MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.00.

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.