Avanza Fonder AB Sells 7,233 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

Key Points

• Avanza Fonder AB has reduced its holdings in MetLife by 15.8%, selling 7,233 shares in the 2nd quarter, now owning 38,663 shares valued at $3,109,000.
• Multiple institutional investors are increasing their stakes in MetLife, with Brighton Jones LLC and Vise Technologies Inc. among those significantly boosting their holdings in the 4th quarter.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed on MetLife, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and target prices ranging up to $103.00, reflecting a generally positive outlook despite recent earnings misses.

Avanza Fonder AB lowered its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 15.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 38,663 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,233 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB's holdings in MetLife were worth $3,109,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MET. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 19,192 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 52.1% in the first quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 9,355 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $751,000 after buying an additional 3,204 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 1st quarter worth about $255,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 20.7% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 60,785 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,735,000 after buying an additional 10,414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in MetLife in the 1st quarter valued at $516,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of MET stock traded up $1.91 during trading on Monday, reaching $81.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,548,732 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,307,280. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $78.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.08. The company has a market capitalization of $53.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.87. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.30). The company had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.58 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 5.83%.MetLife's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.28 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 9th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MET shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of MetLife to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $94.64.

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.