Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA Lowers Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA cut its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 16.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA’s holdings in MetLife were worth $418,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in MetLife by 244.4% during the third quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. increased its position in MetLife by 131.9% during the 3rd quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its holdings in MetLife by 374.3% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in MetLife during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of 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 research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.46.

MetLife Stock Up 0.0 %

NYSE:MET opened at $84.95 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $58.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.15, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $84.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.54. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $64.61 and a 1 year high of $89.05.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s payout ratio is 43.95%.

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.