MetLife, Inc. $MET Stock Position Decreased by Applied Finance Capital Management LLC

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 266,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 20,189 shares during the quarter. MetLife makes up about 1.6% of Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $21,924,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in MetLife in the second quarter worth approximately $756,104,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 9,144,635 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $735,412,000 after purchasing an additional 585,671 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,624,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $532,749,000 after purchasing an additional 162,041 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in MetLife by 2.0% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,512,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $367,643,000 after purchasing an additional 86,519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its position in MetLife by 40.2% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 4,507,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $361,265,000 after buying an additional 1,292,107 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Down 0.1%

MET opened at $76.29 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $78.90 and a 200-day moving average of $78.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.21 and a 1-year high of $87.39.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.24. MetLife had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 21.81%. The business had revenue of $18.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.08 earnings per share. MetLife’s revenue was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MET has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Barclays set a $90.00 price objective on MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Mizuho set a $102.00 target price on MetLife in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings downgraded MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.64.

MetLife Company Profile

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.