King Luther Capital Management Corp Sells 8,121 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

King Luther Capital Management Corp reduced its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 21.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,121 shares during the quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,066,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in MetLife by 37.1% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 848,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,543,000 after purchasing an additional 229,657 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.0% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 11,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $793,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 21.4% in the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 39,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,756,000 after buying an additional 6,930 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,818,000. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,116,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

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

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. The company had revenue of $17.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MET shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Barclays started coverage on MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.54.

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.