Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Sells 557 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE reduced its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 557 shares during the quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings in MetLife were worth $632,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. North Capital Inc. bought a new position in MetLife in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Motco raised its holdings in MetLife by 105.5% in the first quarter. Motco now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. GFG Capital LLC bought a new position in MetLife in the second quarter worth about $38,000. Abound Wealth Management raised its holdings in MetLife by 652.3% in the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in MetLife in the second quarter worth about $40,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.18.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $77.87 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $80.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.13. The firm has a market cap of $51.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.86. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.21 and a 52 week high of $89.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.58 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 19.88%. MetLife’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.28 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 4th will be given a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 4th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.47%.

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.