MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Andra AP fonden

Andra AP fonden reduced its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 63.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 58,200 shares during the quarter. Andra AP fonden’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,358,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $558,460,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 3.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,622,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,418,612,000 after acquiring an additional 1,974,268 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the first quarter valued at $131,456,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in MetLife by 7,837.0% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,129,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,250,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115,124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in MetLife by 29.7% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,120,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $157,133,000 after purchasing an additional 485,811 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

MetLife stock opened at $75.47 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $73.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company has a market capitalization of $53.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.91 and a 12-month high of $79.34.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly 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. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. The firm had revenue of $17.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. MetLife’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th were paid a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MET. Bank of America lowered their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on MetLife from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Argus increased their target price on MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MetLife has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.