Edgestream Partners L.P. Has $348,000 Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Edgestream Partners L.P. lessened its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 29.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,042 shares during the quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $348,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in MetLife by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 78,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,191,000 after acquiring an additional 5,707 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 106,391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,036,000 after purchasing an additional 1,340 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 185,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,283,000 after purchasing an additional 816 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of MET opened at $81.47 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $74.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.71. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $57.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.91 and a 12-month high of $81.85.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. MetLife’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.67 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 74.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on MET shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Citigroup raised their price objective on MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.54.

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.