Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC Raises Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 19.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,394 shares during the quarter. MetLife makes up approximately 1.0% of Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 88.0% in the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 23,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,646,000 after acquiring an additional 10,977 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the second quarter worth about $1,144,000. Candriam S.C.A. grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 177.9% in the second quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 359,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,231,000 after purchasing an additional 230,116 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in MetLife by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 94,696 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,647,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046 shares during the period. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its position in MetLife by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 189,901 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,329,000 after purchasing an additional 2,728 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MET has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Wednesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on MetLife from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.54.

MetLife Trading Down 3.3 %

MetLife stock opened at $74.08 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $57.91 and a 12 month high of $79.34. The company has a market capitalization of $52.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $18.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. MetLife’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 6th. MetLife’s payout ratio is 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.