Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Trims Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund reduced its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 110,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,919 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in MetLife were worth $9,049,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. United Asset Strategies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $895,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its position in MetLife by 1.0% during the 4th 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. grew 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 valued at $781,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC increased its stake in MetLife by 3.2% during 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays reduced their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.58.

MetLife Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $82.29 on Wednesday. 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 12-month low of $67.30 and a 12-month high of $89.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.98 billion, a PE ratio of 13.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $83.41 and its 200-day moving average is $81.69.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. Equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be paid a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.