Arizona State Retirement System Sells 2,947 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Arizona State Retirement System reduced its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 170,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,947 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in MetLife were worth $13,950,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. United Asset Strategies Inc. boosted its holdings in MetLife by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $895,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in MetLife by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $978,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its holdings in MetLife by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 9,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $781,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in MetLife by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $495,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 4,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $352,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $83.17 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $83.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.30 and a 12-month high of $89.05.

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 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MET shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays dropped their price objective 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, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company 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.