MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 10.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 161,701 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 17,917 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in MetLife were worth $13,337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MET. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its stake in MetLife by 73.3% in the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 374.3% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 351 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the second quarter worth about $39,000. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 602.5% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 562 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 72.6% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 568 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Performance

MET traded down $0.37 during trading on Friday, reaching $85.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,359,297 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,320,998. The company's fifty day moving average price is $78.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.12. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $57.91 and a 52-week high of $86.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The company has a market capitalization of $60.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $17.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.57 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is currently 74.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MET shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. TD Cowen started coverage on MetLife in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price target on MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.