Swedbank AB Reduces Holdings in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Swedbank AB cut its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 18.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,831,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 635,000 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned 0.42% of MetLife worth $227,366,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MET. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in MetLife by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 366,556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,431,000 after buying an additional 12,877 shares during the period. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in MetLife in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,196,000. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in MetLife by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 17,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,431,000 after buying an additional 657 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in MetLife by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 183,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,700,000 after buying an additional 2,910 shares during the period. Finally, Westbourne Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in MetLife in the 1st quarter worth approximately $389,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $80.36 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.21 and a 52-week high of $89.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $78.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.30). MetLife had a return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 5.83%.The firm had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group dropped their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on MetLife from $98.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 18th. Barclays increased their price objective on MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.60.

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.