Bank of Nova Scotia Has $17.56 Million Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Bank of Nova Scotia lowered its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 34.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 213,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 109,943 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in MetLife were worth $17,563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new position in MetLife during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife by 95.4% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 564.1% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Mizuho set a $100.00 price objective on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays set a $90.00 price objective on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Evercore set a $95.00 price target on MetLife in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on MetLife from $101.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.67.

MetLife Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $69.21 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.13 billion, a PE ratio of 14.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $75.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $65.21 and a one year high of $85.00.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.81% and a net margin of 4.38%.The company had revenue of $52.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.08 EPS. MetLife’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 3rd. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 48.30%.

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.