Perkins Coie Trust Co Reduces Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Perkins Coie Trust Co lessened its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 42,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 607 shares during the period. Perkins Coie Trust Co’s holdings in MetLife were worth $3,524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the first quarter valued at approximately $7,012,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 54.9% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 371,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,983,000 after purchasing an additional 131,538 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,053,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2,313.7% in the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 104,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,772,000 after purchasing an additional 100,532 shares during the period. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 38.3% in the first quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 30,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,258,000 after purchasing an additional 8,440 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MET traded up $0.77 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $84.05. The stock had a trading volume of 186,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,333,501. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The company has a 50 day moving average of $76.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.47. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $57.91 and a twelve month high of $84.26. The firm has a market cap of $59.77 billion, a PE ratio of 28.62, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.04.

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

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 74.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MET has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.00.

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.