Private Management Group Inc. Has $25.31 Million Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Private Management Group Inc. decreased its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 309,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 25,273 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $25,309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 76.0% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,466,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $283,862,000 after purchasing an additional 1,496,645 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in MetLife during the third quarter worth about $91,771,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 79.1% in the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,726,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $142,378,000 after acquiring an additional 762,291 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in shares of MetLife by 256.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 948,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,209,000 after acquiring an additional 682,333 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in MetLife by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,238,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $347,735,000 after purchasing an additional 608,224 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Up 0.3 %

MET stock opened at $84.92 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.80 billion, a PE ratio of 17.12, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.68. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.65 and a 1-year high of $89.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued 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 return on equity of 20.01% and a net margin of 5.27%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.18 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.57%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price 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 upped their price objective on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.17.

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.