MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Stock Position Lifted by Lake Street Advisors Group LLC

Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $386,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 22.6% during the first 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 increased its position in shares of MetLife by 30.5% during 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 during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 11,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $875,000 after buying an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Vicus Capital bought a new position in MetLife during the first quarter valued at about $407,000. Finally, Founders Financial Securities LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 1.9% during the first quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 13,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $969,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Down 2.3 %

MetLife stock opened at $82.39 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $58.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.31, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $79.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.49. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $57.91 and a one year high of $86.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $17.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be given a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of MetLife in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price objective 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 decreased their target price on MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.