Stolper Co Has $2.26 Million Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Stolper Co decreased its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 6.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,395 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,887 shares during the quarter. Stolper Co’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,260,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MET. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,622,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,418,612,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974,268 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in MetLife during the 1st quarter worth about $131,456,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 7,837.0% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,129,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,250,000 after acquiring an additional 1,115,124 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 22.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,396,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $378,799,000 after purchasing an additional 988,666 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in MetLife by 29.7% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,120,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $157,133,000 after purchasing an additional 485,811 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Up 1.7 %

MetLife stock opened at $85.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $57.91 and a one year high of $85.43. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $76.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.62. The company has a market capitalization of $59.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.65, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.15. MetLife had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The company had revenue of $17.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be paid a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 5th. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 58.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MET shares. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of MetLife in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.46.

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.