MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. cut its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 42.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,279 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $490,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FWL Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Studio Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Aspire Private Capital LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $24,276,860,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 88.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Performance

MET opened at $62.51 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.26. The stock has a market cap of $46.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.95 and a 1-year high of $77.36.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $15.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.49 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 19.14%. MetLife’s quarterly revenue was down 28.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.21 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 8th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 13th. Citigroup increased their target price on MetLife from $76.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 6th. TheStreet raised MetLife from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on MetLife from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.45.

MetLife Profile

MetLife, Inc, a financial services company, provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management services worldwide. It operates through five segments: U.S.; 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.