Wright Investors Service Inc. Reduces Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Wright Investors Service Inc. trimmed its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 24.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,291 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,257 shares during the period. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MET. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in MetLife by 22.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,396,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $378,799,000 after purchasing an additional 988,666 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in MetLife by 5.4% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,299,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $371,993,000 after acquiring an additional 269,246 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in MetLife by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,548,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $375,179,000 after purchasing an additional 68,579 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in 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 worth $347,735,000 after purchasing an additional 608,224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,224,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $226,358,000 after purchasing an additional 100,782 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE:MET opened at $81.94 on Tuesday. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $64.61 and a 52 week high of $89.05. The stock has a market cap of $56.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.52, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $83.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 43.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MET shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased 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. StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.00.

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.