Principal Street Partners LLC Sells 593 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Principal Street Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 593 shares during the quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $734,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avestar Capital LLC grew its position in MetLife by 3.2% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 4,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $352,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $217,000. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,209,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $182,208,000 after purchasing an additional 112,491 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in MetLife by 3.1% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 22,294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,839,000 after buying an additional 671 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in MetLife by 5.5% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 901,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,343,000 after buying an additional 47,117 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:MET traded up $0.75 on Tuesday, reaching $87.34. The company had a trading volume of 4,118,790 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,321,367. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.81 and a 52-week high of $87.64. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.48 billion, a PE ratio of 17.61, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be given a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 43.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on MetLife from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.46.

MetLife 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.