First Horizon Advisors Inc. Increases Stake in MetLife, Inc. $MET

First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 439,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 16,392 shares during the period. MetLife comprises about 0.9% of First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $35,311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Csenge Advisory Group boosted its stake in MetLife by 1.0% during the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 13,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,096,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 0.9% during the first quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 14,265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,145,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 2.2% during the second quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 6,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $491,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Glenview Trust co boosted its stake in MetLife by 0.4% during the first quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 38,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,078,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in MetLife by 1.0% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 14,902 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,198,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Up 0.2%

MET opened at $79.41 on Wednesday. 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $80.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.77. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve month high of $89.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.46, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.86.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.30). MetLife had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 19.88%. The company had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 4th. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 38.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.18.

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.