National Pension Service Sells 124,066 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

National Pension Service cut its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,410,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 124,066 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in MetLife were worth $115,477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 244.4% in the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. increased its stake 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. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in MetLife during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MET. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets began 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 research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lowered their target price on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.58.

MetLife Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:MET opened at $82.46 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $57.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07. 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 twelve month low of $67.30 and a twelve month high of $89.05. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $83.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.70.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. As a group, analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s 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.