Cetera Investment Advisers Buys 5,122 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 2.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 225,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,122 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in MetLife were worth $18,148,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MET. Quaker Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 198.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 672 shares during the last quarter. Motco raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 105.5% during the first quarter. Motco now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. GFG Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Abound Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in MetLife during the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MET stock opened at $75.41 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $79.66 and its 200 day moving average is $78.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market cap of $49.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.78, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.87. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve month high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.64 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 5.83%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.95 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th will be issued a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 42.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MET shares. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, August 22nd. UBS Group dropped their price target on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.00.

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.