MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Investors Research Corp

Investors Research Corp reduced its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 17.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,975 shares during the period. Investors Research Corp’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,161,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 26,785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,193,000 after purchasing an additional 2,338 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 10,639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $871,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 776,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,559,000 after buying an additional 12,723 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 121.8% during the 4th quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 6,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $502,000 after buying an additional 3,366 shares during the period. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 53,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,352,000 after buying an additional 710 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MET shares. Barclays dropped their target price on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen raised their target price on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.58.

MetLife Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:MET opened at $82.28 on Monday. 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 $56.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.35.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) 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 research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.