Grimes & Company Inc. Sells 971 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Grimes & Company Inc. lessened its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 8.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 971 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $886,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its position in MetLife by 374.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife by 73.3% during the 1st quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Crewe Advisors LLC grew 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 valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife by 72.6% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of MET stock opened at $84.36 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $59.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.99, a PEG ratio of 0.69 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 company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $79.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.36.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced 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 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. Analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

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 is Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MET shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report 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 research report on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.46.

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.