Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. Takes $291,000 Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. bought a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 3,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $291,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. RBA Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. RBA Wealth Management LLC now owns 77,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,399,000 after buying an additional 470 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $590,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 12,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,034,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,051,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the period. Finally, Vest Financial LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 202.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 13,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,089,000 after buying an additional 8,833 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET stock opened at $84.77 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $60.28 billion, a PE ratio of 29.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.29. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $57.91 and a 12 month high of $86.94.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. Analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 5th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 74.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays began coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.46.

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.