MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by GDS Wealth Management

GDS Wealth Management lessened its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 14.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 834 shares during the period. GDS Wealth Management’s holdings in MetLife were worth $352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MET. Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in MetLife by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 13,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $964,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in MetLife by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Hills Bank & Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 8.3% during the second quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. CNB Bank lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 9.3% in the first quarter. CNB Bank now owns 1,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marcum Wealth LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 3,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $77.38 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $74.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $57.91 and a 52-week high of $79.34. The stock has a market cap of $55.03 billion, a PE ratio of 26.59, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. MetLife’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 74.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MET has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays started coverage on shares of MetLife in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup increased their price target on MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Argus raised their price target on MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.54.

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.