Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $45.75 Million Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 651,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 30,155 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.09% of MetLife worth $45,748,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife by 73.3% in the 1st quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in MetLife during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 602.5% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advantage Trust Co acquired a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Up 1.0 %

MET opened at $77.48 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $57.91 and a 1-year high of $79.34. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $55.10 billion, a PE ratio of 26.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 6th. MetLife’s payout ratio is 74.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on MetLife from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Bank of America reduced their price target on MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.00.

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.