Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Sells 484 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lessened its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 38,327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 484 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,690,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,622,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,418,612,000 after acquiring an additional 1,974,268 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the 1st quarter worth about $131,456,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife by 7,837.0% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,129,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,250,000 after buying an additional 1,115,124 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of MetLife by 22.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,396,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $378,799,000 after buying an additional 988,666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 29.7% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,120,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $157,133,000 after buying an additional 485,811 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

NYSE:MET opened at $84.04 on Friday. 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 cap of $59.76 billion, a PE ratio of 28.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $57.91 and a 12 month high of $84.26. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $75.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.32.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. MetLife’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.59%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MET shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America cut their target price on MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. One equities 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 has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.25.

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.