MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. cut its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 99,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,499 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $8,127,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife by 244.4% in the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in MetLife in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MET opened at $78.56 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $83.61 and its 200-day moving average is $82.41. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $67.30 and a one year high of $89.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

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

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MetLife has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.58.

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.