Cornerstone Advisors LLC Has $2.25 Million Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Cornerstone Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 17.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,800 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,253,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new position in MetLife in the first quarter valued at $7,012,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 54.9% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 371,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,983,000 after purchasing an additional 131,538 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of MetLife by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,005,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $132,641,000 after acquiring an additional 35,782 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the first quarter worth about $1,053,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife by 2,313.7% during the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 104,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,772,000 after acquiring an additional 100,532 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $77.38 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $55.03 billion, a PE ratio of 26.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.91 and a 12-month high of $79.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.37.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.67 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were given a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 74.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.54.

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.