Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC Sells 2,617 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 70.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,617 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $89,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its holdings in MetLife by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $895,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $978,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.3% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 9,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $781,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 0.8% in the third quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 16,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,375,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.17.

MetLife Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE MET opened at $82.31 on Wednesday. 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’s 50 day moving average is $83.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.15. The company has a market capitalization of $57.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.79, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.07. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.30 and a 1-year high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

About MetLife

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.