MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Purchased by Graypoint LLC

Graypoint LLC raised its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 6.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,507 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the quarter. Graypoint LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $316,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MET. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife by 73.3% in the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in MetLife during the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Rise Advisors LLC raised its position in MetLife by 114.7% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 602.5% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of MetLife by 4,107.1% in the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MET shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on MetLife from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.00.

MetLife Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of MET opened at $77.48 on Tuesday. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $57.91 and a fifty-two week high of $79.34. The company’s fifty day moving average is $72.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.88. The firm has a market cap of $54.26 billion, a PE ratio of 26.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.68 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.91%.

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.