Putnam Investments LLC Reduces Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Putnam Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 9.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 423,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 41,791 shares during the quarter. Putnam Investments LLC owned 0.06% of MetLife worth $24,510,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the first quarter worth about $944,000. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd increased its position in shares of MetLife by 20.2% during the first quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd now owns 316,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,359,000 after acquiring an additional 53,266 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of MetLife by 7.1% during the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 18,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $816,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife by 4.2% during the first quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 51,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,964,000 after acquiring an additional 2,085 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of MetLife by 6.4% during the first quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 374,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,675,000 after acquiring an additional 22,343 shares during the last quarter. 88.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MET. StockNews.com began coverage on MetLife in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Argus lifted their price target on MetLife from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 14th. Citigroup lifted their price target on MetLife from $76.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on MetLife from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on MetLife from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.40.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET stock opened at $65.93 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The business has a 50 day moving average of $61.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.84. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.95 and a 52 week high of $77.36. The company has a market cap of $49.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.65, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.09.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.09. MetLife had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 3.14%. The company had revenue of $16.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.00 earnings per share. MetLife’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 7.78 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 7th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.93%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Marlene Debel sold 9,391 shares of MetLife stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total transaction of $593,323.38. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 77,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,905,168.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Profile

MetLife, Inc, a financial services company, provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management services worldwide. It operates through five segments: U.S.; 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.