PDS Planning Inc Raises Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. $MET

PDS Planning Inc increased its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in MetLife were worth $239,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Csenge Advisory Group raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.0% during the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 13,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,096,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 0.9% during the first quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 14,265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,145,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.2% during the second quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 6,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $491,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Glenview Trust co raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 0.4% during the first quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 38,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,078,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.5% during the first quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 6,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $519,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MET shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Wolfe Research raised shares of MetLife to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.18.

MetLife Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $79.88 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.08. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.21 and a 52-week high of $89.05. The firm has a market cap of $53.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

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

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th will be given a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 4th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.47%.

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.