MetLife, Inc. $MET Shares Sold by Ransom Advisory Ltd

Ransom Advisory Ltd reduced its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 23,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 350 shares during the quarter. MetLife makes up about 0.9% of Ransom Advisory Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Ransom Advisory Ltd’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,882,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the period. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $605,000. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $348,000. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 336,124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,521,000 after purchasing an additional 19,307 shares during the period. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $697,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.60.

MetLife Price Performance

MetLife stock opened at $80.86 on Monday. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.21 and a 52 week high of $89.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.77 billion, a PE ratio of 13.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.87.

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

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 38.47%.

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.