Dodge & Cox Sells 502,027 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Dodge & Cox reduced its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,154,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 502,027 shares during the period. MetLife accounts for 2.6% of Dodge & Cox’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Dodge & Cox owned 7.82% of MetLife worth $4,434,175,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bridgewater Associates LP increased its position in MetLife by 151.3% in the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 1,198,030 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $98,095,000 after buying an additional 721,344 shares during the last quarter. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $23,460,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $804,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 9,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $774,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC lifted its holdings in MetLife by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 148,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,199,000 after purchasing an additional 3,758 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Up 2.1 %

MET stock opened at $72.92 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $80.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $49.68 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.89. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.21 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05.

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 return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.46.

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.