Yousif Capital Management LLC Sells 13,713 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Yousif Capital Management LLC lessened its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 13.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 86,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,713 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $7,065,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.17.

MetLife Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:MET opened at $84.92 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $83.96 and its 200 day moving average is $80.68. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.65 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.80 billion, a PE ratio of 17.12, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 5.27% and a return on equity of 20.01%. Sell-side analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current 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 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 dividend yield of 2.57%. 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.