Bank of New York Mellon Corp Trims Stake in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 39.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,944,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,165,074 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in MetLife were worth $407,238,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quaker Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife by 198.2% during the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 672 shares during the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in MetLife during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its position in MetLife by 95.4% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in MetLife by 564.1% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group dropped their price target on MetLife from $95.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on MetLife from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Mizuho set a $102.00 target price on shares of MetLife in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $101.00 target price on shares of MetLife and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $95.27.

MetLife Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of MET opened at $78.22 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve month high of $87.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.73, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $78.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.78.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $12.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.64 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.00% and a net margin of 5.30%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.95 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 42.75%.

MetLife Company Profile

MetLife, Inc is a global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. Headquartered in New York City, the company offers a range of risk protection and retirement solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life insurance, group benefits, retirement products such as annuities, and supplemental health products including dental and disability coverage.

In addition to traditional life and group insurance, MetLife provides workplace benefits and voluntary products distributed through employer-sponsored programs.