Financial Counselors Inc. Cuts Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Financial Counselors Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 8.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 536 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $447,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its holdings in MetLife by 140.5% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 52,522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,301,000 after buying an additional 30,682 shares during the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 792,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $64,921,000 after acquiring an additional 19,251 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 9,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $807,000 after acquiring an additional 788 shares in the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $628,000 after acquiring an additional 2,124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth approximately $422,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MET has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. 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. Finally, Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.58.

MetLife Trading Down 4.6 %

Shares of MET stock opened at $79.19 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $83.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.83. The firm has a market cap of $53.95 billion, a PE ratio of 13.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 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, analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

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.