Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Cuts Holdings in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,397,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. North Capital Inc. purchased a new position in MetLife in the first quarter worth $26,000. Motco grew its holdings in MetLife by 105.5% in the first quarter. Motco now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management grew its holdings in MetLife by 652.3% in the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in MetLife in the second quarter worth $40,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in MetLife in the first quarter worth $46,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Down 2.6%

NYSE MET opened at $79.88 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $53.12 billion, a PE ratio of 13.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a fifty day moving average of $79.68 and a 200 day moving average of $78.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.21 and a 1 year high of $89.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by ($0.30). The business had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.58 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 19.88%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.28 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th will be issued a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 4th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 38.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.18.

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.