MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Wealth Alliance

Wealth Alliance trimmed its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 13.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 545 shares during the quarter. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in MetLife were worth $290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MET. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in MetLife by 76.0% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,466,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $283,862,000 after buying an additional 1,496,645 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $91,771,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its stake in 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 worth $142,378,000 after purchasing an additional 762,291 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in 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 worth $78,209,000 after purchasing an additional 682,333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake 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. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $81.02 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $56.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.57, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.30 and a 52-week high of $89.05. The business’s 50 day moving average is $83.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.35.

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

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 36.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MET shares. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.58.

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.