Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Raises Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC lifted its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 22.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 690 shares during the period. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $265,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MET. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of MetLife by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,622,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,418,612,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974,268 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $558,460,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,053,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $268,090,000 after acquiring an additional 700,788 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 4.1% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,772,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $205,544,000 after buying an additional 108,739 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in MetLife by 29.7% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,120,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $157,133,000 after acquiring an additional 485,811 shares during the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $75.48 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $53.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.94, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $73.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.15. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $57.91 and a 52 week high of $79.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.67 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Barclays began coverage on MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average 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.