Virtue Capital Management LLC Cuts Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Virtue Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 5,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 742 shares during the period. Virtue Capital Management LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PFG Investments LLC raised its holdings in MetLife by 8.9% in the third quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 6,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $525,000 after buying an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,960,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,074,000. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in MetLife by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,299,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $371,993,000 after acquiring an additional 269,246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AIA Group Ltd lifted its position in MetLife by 101.4% in the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 13,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,117,000 after acquiring an additional 6,818 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Down 1.7 %

MET opened at $80.33 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.20. The company has a market capitalization of $55.62 billion, a PE ratio of 16.20, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.06. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $64.61 and a 1-year high of $89.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on MET. TD Cowen lifted their target price on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on MetLife from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $88.62.

About MetLife

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.