Private Management Group Inc. Has $23.86 Million Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Private Management Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 0.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 339,954 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,262 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $23,861,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mount Lucas Management LP bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,210,000. Caprock Group LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 24.1% in the second quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 23,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,679,000 after purchasing an additional 4,647 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in MetLife by 7,837.0% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,129,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,250,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115,124 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in MetLife by 614.8% during the second quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 146,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,253,000 after buying an additional 125,637 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 19.9% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 32,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,286,000 after buying an additional 5,394 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Down 3.3 %

MET opened at $74.08 on Monday. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $57.91 and a 1-year high of $79.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.88 billion, a PE ratio of 25.46, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $73.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.10.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.15. MetLife had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The business had revenue of $17.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. MetLife’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MET shares. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays assumed coverage on MetLife in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Argus increased their price objective on MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.