Jackson Square Capital LLC Sells 5,487 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

Key Points

• Jackson Square Capital LLC reduced its holdings in MetLife, Inc. by 43.5%, selling 5,487 shares and retaining 7,113 shares worth approximately $572,000 at the end of the last reporting period.
• MetLife's stocks were rated with a consensus "Buy" and an average target price of $95.55, despite mixed analyst ratings and price objectives.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5675, translating to an annualized payout of $2.27, yielding 2.9%, with a current payout ratio of 38.47%.

Jackson Square Capital LLC reduced its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 43.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,113 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,487 shares during the quarter. Jackson Square Capital LLC's holdings in MetLife were worth $572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in MetLife by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 422,684 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,937,000 after purchasing an additional 19,192 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in MetLife by 52.1% during the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 9,355 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $751,000 after purchasing an additional 3,204 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc bought a new position in MetLife during the 1st quarter worth about $255,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in MetLife by 20.7% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 60,785 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,735,000 after purchasing an additional 10,414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in MetLife during the 1st quarter worth about $516,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MET. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $97.00 price objective (up previously from $94.00) on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on MetLife from $98.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $95.55.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $78.71 on Thursday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $78.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.21 and a 1 year high of $89.05.

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

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. MetLife's payout ratio is presently 38.47%.

MetLife 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.

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