New York Life Investment Management LLC Sells 2,026 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

New York Life Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 86,490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,026 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $7,082,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CX Institutional boosted its holdings in MetLife by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 68,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,568,000 after purchasing an additional 9,337 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in MetLife by 109.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $722,727,000 after purchasing an additional 4,606,748 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in MetLife in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,960,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in MetLife by 48,101.4% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 106,043 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,746,000 after purchasing an additional 105,823 shares during the period. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in MetLife in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,074,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

MET stock opened at $86.16 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.83. The stock has a market cap of $59.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.30 and a 1 year high of $89.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. Research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MET shares. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays cut their price target on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.58.

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.