MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC

Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 253 shares during the quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,419,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Abacus Planning Group Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in MetLife by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 8,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $705,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 13,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $964,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hills Bank & Trust Co raised its position in shares of MetLife by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $130,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MET shares. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Bank of America decreased their target price on MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued 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 $88.46.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MET opened at $85.32 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.67 billion, a PE ratio of 29.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $78.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.12. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $57.91 and a twelve month high of $86.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. MetLife’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.61 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 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.