Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Sells 20,189 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 266,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 20,189 shares during the quarter. MetLife makes up about 1.6% of Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $21,924,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MET. Providence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in MetLife in the third quarter worth $6,649,000. Midwest Trust Co increased its holdings in MetLife by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. Midwest Trust Co now owns 5,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $475,000 after buying an additional 621 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 3rd quarter valued at $333,000. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 13,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,146,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 9,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $803,000 after acquiring an additional 630 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Trading Down 0.1%

MET stock opened at $76.29 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $78.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.18. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.21 and a fifty-two week high of $87.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.77.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.24. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.81% and a net margin of 4.38%.The company had revenue of $18.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.08 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be given a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 3rd. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $101.00 price objective on MetLife and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on MetLife from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Mizuho set a $102.00 price target on MetLife in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Evercore set a $97.00 price objective on MetLife and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.64.

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.