HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 24,503 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 146,963 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 24,503 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $12,106,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quaker Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife by 198.2% during the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 672 shares during the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in MetLife in the second quarter worth about $35,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its position in MetLife by 95.4% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in MetLife by 564.1% during the 3rd 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 acquired a new position in MetLife during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $79.05 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market capitalization of $52.08 billion, a PE ratio of 16.82, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.77. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.21 and a 12 month high of $87.39.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.81% and a net margin of 4.38%.The company had revenue of $52.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 3rd. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MET shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $101.00 price target on MetLife and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Evercore set a $95.00 price objective on MetLife in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays set a $90.00 target price on MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.27.

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.