MetLife, Inc. $MET Shares Sold by Amundi

Key Points

• Amundi has reduced its stake in MetLife, Inc. by 14%, now holding approximately $244 million worth of shares.
• MetLife recently reported earnings of $2.02 per share, missing estimates and showing a 2.7% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5675 per share, representing a 2.8% yield and a payout ratio of 38.47%.

Amundi lessened its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 14.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,215,255 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 524,463 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned 0.48% of MetLife worth $244,070,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. North Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Motco lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 105.5% in the 1st quarter. Motco now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 1st quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, American National Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 128.4% in the 1st quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 603 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Price Performance

NYSE:MET traded down $2.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $79.51. 4,830,111 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,820,923. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.21 and a 52-week high of $89.05. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $78.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $52.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.87.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.58 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 5.83%.MetLife's quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be given a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is 38.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MET shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on MetLife from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. UBS Group reduced their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen cut MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $97.00 price target (up previously from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $95.60.

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.