Sanctuary Advisors LLC Takes Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 90,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,377,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 73.3% in the 1st 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. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in MetLife during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 482 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife by 72.6% in the second 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.25.

MetLife Price Performance

MET opened at $84.04 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $57.91 and a 1-year high of $84.26. The company has a 50-day moving average of $75.97 and a 200-day moving average of $73.32. The company has a market capitalization of $59.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.88, a PEG ratio of 0.66 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.15. The firm 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%. MetLife’s revenue for the quarter 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 expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were issued a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.91%.

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.