ABC Arbitrage SA Sells 34,672 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

ABC Arbitrage SA lessened its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 81.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 34,672 shares during the period. ABC Arbitrage SA’s holdings in MetLife were worth $620,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MET. Quaker Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in MetLife by 198.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 672 shares during the period. Motco increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 105.5% in the first quarter. Motco now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. GFG Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Abound Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 652.3% in the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the period. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in MetLife in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on MET. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 7th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.00.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET opened at $80.17 on Thursday. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $65.21 and a one year high of $89.05. The company has a market cap of $52.82 billion, a PE ratio of 13.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $79.89 and a 200-day moving average of $78.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.07. MetLife had a return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 5.83%.The business had revenue of $12.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 4th will be issued a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.75%.

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.