Bank of America Corp DE Trims Position in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Bank of America Corp DE lowered its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,499,868 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 166,286 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.85% of MetLife worth $388,951,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its position in MetLife by 3,709.1% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 101,398 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,171,000 after buying an additional 98,736 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 162.0% in the first quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 92,556 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,546,000 after acquiring an additional 57,234 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 96.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 181,964 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,868,000 after acquiring an additional 89,341 shares during the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas grew its holdings in MetLife by 4.2% in the first quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas now owns 79,547 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,626,000 after purchasing an additional 3,214 shares during the period. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its position in MetLife by 11.1% during the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 100,774 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,127,000 after purchasing an additional 10,040 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of MET opened at $96.21 on Monday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.33 and a 12 month high of $97.80. The stock's 50-day moving average is $88.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market cap of $61.90 billion, a PE ratio of 18.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.78.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.49 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 22.60% and a net margin of 4.66%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on MET. Atlantic Securities set a $103.00 price target on shares of MetLife in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Mizuho upped their price objective on MetLife from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays increased their target price on MetLife from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Evercore set a $96.00 target price on MetLife in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on MetLife from $96.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $100.50.

MetLife 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.