LSV Asset Management Sells 193,600 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

LSV Asset Management lessened its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 7.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,273,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 193,600 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned 0.32% of MetLife worth $159,592,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its stake in MetLife by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 13,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $917,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at about $201,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $288,000. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. purchased a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $235,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in MetLife by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,053,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $268,090,000 after purchasing an additional 700,788 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MET traded down $2.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $74.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,991,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,346,042. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $73.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.08. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $57.91 and a one year high of $79.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 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 earnings per share (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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors 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 yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on MET. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Barclays began coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Wednesday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.54.

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.