Bleakley Financial Group LLC Sells 468 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC cut its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 468 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MET. Abacus Planning Group Inc. raised its holdings in MetLife by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 12,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,015,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.7% during the third quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 8,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $705,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.0% during the second quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 13,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $964,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.5% in the second quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hills Bank & Trust Co increased its holdings in MetLife by 8.3% in the second quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.46.

MetLife Price Performance

MET stock opened at $85.33 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $57.91 and a 1 year high of $86.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.68 billion, a PE ratio of 29.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s 50-day moving average is $78.52 and its 200-day moving average is $74.12. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts’ expectations of $18.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.55%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 74.91%.

About MetLife

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.