Lazari Capital Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Lazari Capital Management Inc. cut its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 254 shares during the quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 76.0% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,466,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $283,862,000 after acquiring an additional 1,496,645 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $91,771,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 79.1% in the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,726,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $142,378,000 after acquiring an additional 762,291 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 256.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 948,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,209,000 after acquiring an additional 682,333 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,238,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $347,735,000 after acquiring an additional 608,224 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $86.56 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.61 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $84.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.54.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 43.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MET shares. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.46.

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.