FORA Capital LLC Sells 9,484 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

FORA Capital LLC lessened its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 32.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,484 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in MetLife during the second quarter valued at $35,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in MetLife by 95.4% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 564.1% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $68.00 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $76.20 and a 200 day moving average of $78.37. The company has a market cap of $44.34 billion, a PE ratio of 14.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.76. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.21 and a 12-month high of $85.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $52.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.43 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 21.81%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 48.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Barclays set a $90.00 target price on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $91.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho set a $100.00 price objective on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.67.

MetLife Profile

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.