Community Trust & Investment Co. Boosts Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Community Trust & Investment Co. raised its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 15.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 51,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,893 shares during the period. Community Trust & Investment Co.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,914,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 41.6% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 116,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,759,000 after acquiring an additional 34,248 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 10.7% in the first quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 11,543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $666,000 after acquiring an additional 1,113 shares during the period. Leo Brokerage LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the first quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of MetLife by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 148,449 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,601,000 after purchasing an additional 10,605 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 74.4% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 111,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,067,000 after purchasing an additional 47,543 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Marlene Debel sold 9,391 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.18, for a total value of $593,323.38. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 77,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,905,168.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE MET traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $66.12. 541,437 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,855,349. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.95 and a 1 year high of $77.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.80, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The business has a 50 day moving average of $62.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.67.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $16.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.91 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 3.14% and a return on equity of 17.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 7.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 8th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 7th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on MetLife from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 15th. Argus boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 14th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.40.

MetLife Profile

MetLife, Inc, a financial services company, provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management services worldwide. It operates through five segments: U.S.; 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.