Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Has $120.15 Million Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. trimmed its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 2.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,711,779 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 50,027 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned 0.24% of MetLife worth $120,150,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 73.3% during the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the second quarter worth $39,000. Rise Advisors LLC raised its stake in MetLife by 114.7% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its position in MetLife by 602.5% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 72.6% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on MET shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.54.

MetLife Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $80.85 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $57.91 and a 52-week high of $81.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $74.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.63. The company has a market capitalization of $57.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.67 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were paid a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.91%.

MetLife 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.