United Asset Strategies Inc. Sells 131 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

United Asset Strategies Inc. reduced its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 131 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MET. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 19,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,420,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC lifted its position in MetLife by 152.9% in the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 8,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $601,000 after buying an additional 4,906 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its position in MetLife by 10.1% in the first quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,617 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $490,000 after buying an additional 608 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in MetLife by 0.4% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 93,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,940,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife during the first quarter worth about $676,000. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MET shares. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of MetLife in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.38.

MetLife Stock Down 5.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $78.44 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.89 and a 52-week high of $86.94. The company has a 50 day moving average of $80.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.78. The company has a market capitalization of $54.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.15. MetLife had a net margin of 5.27% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The business had revenue of $17.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 43.95%.

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.