Argyle Capital Management Inc. Has $2.80 Million Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Argyle Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 34,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,575 shares during the period. Argyle Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,804,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MET. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 374.3% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 177.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in MetLife in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 72.6% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Up 0.2 %

MET traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $83.26. The company had a trading volume of 342,221 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,276,847. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $80.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.60. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.48 and a 52 week high of $86.94. The company has a market capitalization of $59.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.55, a PEG ratio of 0.70 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 (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. The business had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be given a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 74.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MET. Barclays began coverage on MetLife in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.46.

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.