Pacer Advisors Inc. Has $5.05 Million Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 31.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 61,306 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,586 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $5,050,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in MetLife by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 10,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of MetLife by 188.1% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 417,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,577,000 after acquiring an additional 272,619 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 88.2% during the second quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 6,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $509,000 after acquiring an additional 2,965 shares during the period. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC bought a new position in MetLife in the second quarter valued at about $1,608,000. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in MetLife in the first quarter worth about $12,060,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Down 0.3%

MET opened at $80.04 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $78.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.95. The firm has a market cap of $52.73 billion, a PE ratio of 15.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.76. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve month high of $88.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 0.18.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $12.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.64 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 21.00%. The firm’s revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.95 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th were issued a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 42.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MET shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of MetLife in a research note on Monday, December 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $101.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded MetLife to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.73.

About MetLife

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.