Boston Common Asset Management LLC Sells 39,706 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

Boston Common Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 18.2% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 177,887 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 39,706 shares during the period. Boston Common Asset Management LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $14,306,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Csenge Advisory Group boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 1.0% in the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 13,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,096,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Delta Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 0.9% in the first quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 14,265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,145,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Glenview Trust co boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 0.4% in the first quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 38,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,078,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 2.5% in the first quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 6,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $519,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. Finally, My Legacy Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 1.2% in the second quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 14,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,097,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $82.41 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.81 billion, a PE ratio of 13.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $79.10 and its 200 day moving average is $78.17. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.21 and a 1 year high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.58 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 19.88%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.28 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of MetLife to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $97.00 target price (up from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.64.

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.