Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Cuts Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC decreased its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 503,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 101,917 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned 0.07% of MetLife worth $41,564,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Procyon Advisors LLC grew its stake in MetLife by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 26,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,186,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 54.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the period. Sunflower Bank N.A. grew its position in shares of MetLife by 9.9% during the third quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 3,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.7% during the third quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 8,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $705,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in MetLife by 98.3% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Up 0.1 %

MET stock traded up $0.08 on Monday, hitting $85.59. 345,826 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,333,961. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s fifty day moving average is $76.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.71. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $57.91 and a twelve month high of $85.97. 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 (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.61 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.55%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. 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 for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.46.

MetLife 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.