3,534 Shares in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Purchased by Aprio Wealth Management LLC

Aprio Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 3,534 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $291,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 73.3% during the first 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. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in MetLife during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Rise Advisors LLC raised its position in MetLife by 114.7% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position in MetLife by 602.5% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in MetLife by 72.6% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MET. Citigroup lifted their price target on MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.25.

MetLife Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of MET opened at $83.28 on Wednesday. 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 one year low of $57.91 and a one year high of $84.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.62, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $76.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.40.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. The firm had revenue of $17.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.