MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Holdings Lifted by Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 314.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 22,428 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,074,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 73.3% during the 1st quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in MetLife in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Rise Advisors LLC increased its stake in MetLife by 114.7% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife by 602.5% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 72.6% in 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 during the period. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Bank of America lowered their target price on MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.54.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $81.47 on Tuesday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $57.91 and a 12 month high of $81.85. 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 $57.94 billion, a PE ratio of 28.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.71.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.91%.

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.