Howard Capital Management Inc. Sells 436 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

Howard Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 52,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 436 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $4,212,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its stake in MetLife by 88.2% in the 2nd quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 6,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $509,000 after buying an additional 2,965 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 4.8% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 422,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,937,000 after purchasing an additional 19,192 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc bought a new stake in MetLife in the 1st quarter valued at $255,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in MetLife by 20.7% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 60,785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,735,000 after buying an additional 10,414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp increased its position in MetLife by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 108,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,745,000 after buying an additional 18,461 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $78.89 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.21 and a 52-week high of $89.05. The company has a market capitalization of $52.47 billion, a PE ratio of 13.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a fifty day moving average of $80.40 and a 200-day moving average of $78.43.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by ($0.30). MetLife had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 19.88%. The firm had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 4th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 38.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 11th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wolfe Research upgraded MetLife to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.18.

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.