MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Valley Wealth Managers Inc.

Valley Wealth Managers Inc. cut its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 303,989 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 21,502 shares during the period. MetLife makes up approximately 1.7% of Valley Wealth Managers Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Valley Wealth Managers Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $21,337,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MET. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 73.3% in the 1st quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 602.5% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 72.6% in the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $75.47 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $57.91 and a fifty-two week high of $79.34. The firm has a market cap of $52.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.22.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $17.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. MetLife’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th were given a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. MetLife’s payout ratio is 74.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on MetLife from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.54.

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.