MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Cullinan Associates Inc.

Cullinan Associates Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 4.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,312 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 263 shares during the period. Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $536,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MET. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in MetLife by 54.9% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 371,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,983,000 after purchasing an additional 131,538 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in MetLife during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,053,000. Entropy Technologies LP lifted its holdings in MetLife by 38.3% during the 1st quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 30,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,258,000 after buying an additional 8,440 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new position in MetLife during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,346,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in MetLife by 53.0% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 618,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,848,000 after buying an additional 214,367 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $82.39 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $57.91 and a fifty-two week high of $86.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.31, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50-day moving average of $79.62 and a 200-day moving average of $74.43.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its 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 4.23% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The firm had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MET shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on MetLife from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.46.

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.