MetLife, Inc. $MET Position Cut by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 144,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,010 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $11,646,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in MetLife by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife by 18.5% during the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 83,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,700,000 after buying an additional 13,037 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 18.4% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 24,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,935,000 after acquiring an additional 3,740 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.7% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 12,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,004,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp raised its holdings in MetLife by 15.9% during the first quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 3,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Up 3.1%

NYSE MET opened at $80.17 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $79.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.90. The stock has a market cap of $52.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.59, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.87. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve month high of $89.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.07. MetLife had a return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 5.83%.The firm had revenue of $12.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.95 earnings per share. MetLife’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler cut MetLife from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.00.

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.