Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 16,130 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 189,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 16,130 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $15,570,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in MetLife by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 9,170 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $736,000 after purchasing an additional 651 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 1st quarter worth approximately $300,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 20,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,640,000 after buying an additional 747 shares during the period. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in MetLife in the 1st quarter valued at $307,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of MET opened at $79.37 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.30 billion, a PE ratio of 14.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.76. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.21 and a 12-month high of $88.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $12.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.64 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.00% and a net margin of 5.30%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.95 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on MET shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of MetLife to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Evercore ISI set a $97.00 price target on shares of MetLife and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays set a $90.00 price objective on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.08.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc is a global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. Headquartered in New York City, the company offers a range of risk protection and retirement solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life insurance, group benefits, retirement products such as annuities, and supplemental health products including dental and disability coverage.

In addition to traditional life and group insurance, MetLife provides workplace benefits and voluntary products distributed through employer-sponsored programs.