Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Sells 7,100 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. reduced its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 2.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 247,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,100 shares during the quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $17,351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CNB Bank raised its position in shares of MetLife by 9.3% during the first quarter. CNB Bank now owns 1,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Strategic Blueprint LLC raised its holdings in MetLife by 2.9% during the first quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 5,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.7% during the first quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 3,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV increased its position in shares of MetLife by 4.5% during the second quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV now owns 3,628 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 5,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $418,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MET shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Bank of America cut their target price on MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup increased their price target on MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.00.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET stock traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $74.34. 2,629,905 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,365,335. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.51. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $57.91 and a 52-week high of $79.34.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. The business had revenue of $17.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.57 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.91%.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.