MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Wambolt & Associates LLC

Wambolt & Associates LLC decreased its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,030 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 217 shares during the quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 73.3% during the 1st quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in MetLife in the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Rise Advisors LLC raised its position in MetLife by 114.7% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in MetLife by 602.5% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife by 72.6% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MET has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. StockNews.com cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.54.

MetLife Price Performance

MET stock opened at $74.74 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $53.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $57.91 and a 52-week high of $79.34. The business has a fifty day moving average of $73.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.20.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.15. MetLife had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The firm had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. MetLife’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.67 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th were issued a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.91%.

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.