Gables Capital Management Inc. Sells 200 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Gables Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 12.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $112,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. CX Institutional grew its position in MetLife by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 68,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,568,000 after purchasing an additional 9,337 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in MetLife by 109.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $722,727,000 after purchasing an additional 4,606,748 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in MetLife by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 13,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 2,940 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in MetLife in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,960,000. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,074,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.58.

MetLife Trading Down 3.8 %

NYSE MET opened at $79.11 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.25, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $67.30 and a one year high of $89.05. 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’s fifty day moving average is $83.68 and its 200-day moving average is $82.38.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its 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 return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. Equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS 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 dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s payout ratio is 36.52%.

MetLife Profile

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.