Barrett & Company Inc. Sells 1,957 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Barrett & Company Inc. trimmed its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,957 shares during the quarter. Barrett & Company Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $975,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 54.9% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 371,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,983,000 after buying an additional 131,538 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the first quarter worth approximately $1,053,000. Entropy Technologies LP lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 38.3% during the first quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 30,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,258,000 after purchasing an additional 8,440 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,346,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in MetLife by 53.0% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 618,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,848,000 after purchasing an additional 214,367 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:MET traded up $0.78 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $83.17. The stock had a trading volume of 240,584 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,279,140. The business’s 50 day moving average is $79.81 and its 200-day moving average is $74.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $59.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $58.48 and a one year high of $86.94.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $17.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.46.

MetLife Company 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.