MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Acquired by Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC boosted its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 22.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 690 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 13,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $964,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.5% during the second quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 8.3% in the second quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. CNB Bank grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 9.3% in the first quarter. CNB Bank now owns 1,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $129,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marcum Wealth LLC increased its position in MetLife by 4.7% during the first quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 3,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America decreased their target price on MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays started coverage on MetLife in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.54.

MetLife Stock Performance

MET stock opened at $75.48 on Tuesday. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $57.91 and a 1-year high of $79.34. 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 market cap of $53.68 billion, a PE ratio of 25.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $73.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.15.

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

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th will be paid a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 6th. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 74.91%.

MetLife Company Profile

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.