Carret Asset Management LLC Cuts Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Carret Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 2.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 54,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,150 shares during the period. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $4,526,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Abacus Planning Group Inc. boosted its stake in MetLife by 1.0% in the third quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 12,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,015,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 6,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $576,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. lifted its stake in MetLife by 1.7% in the third quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 8,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $705,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust increased its position in MetLife by 0.4% in the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 31,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,589,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in MetLife by 1.0% in the second quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 13,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $964,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Down 2.3 %

MET opened at $82.39 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $57.91 and a one year high of $86.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $79.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.50.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. The business had revenue of $17.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be paid a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.46.

MetLife 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.