Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC Trims Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC decreased its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 4.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,798 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 286 shares during the period. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 73.3% in the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in MetLife in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife by 602.5% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 72.6% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

MetLife stock opened at $75.47 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $57.91 and a twelve month high of $79.34. The company has a market capitalization of $52.85 billion, a PE ratio of 25.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. The firm had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.67 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were issued a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 74.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Argus boosted their target price on MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on MetLife from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.54.

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.