Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Decreases Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,115,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 17,752 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.16% of MetLife worth $78,265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 13,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $917,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $201,000. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 14,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $983,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $221,000. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $990,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Down 0.3 %

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

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were given a dividend of $0.545 per share. 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Bank of America lowered their price target on MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.54.

MetLife Company 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.