Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 39,281 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,077,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 39,281 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in MetLife were worth $88,203,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. United Asset Strategies Inc. increased its holdings in MetLife by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $895,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. increased its holdings in MetLife by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $978,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its holdings in MetLife by 1.3% during the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 9,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $781,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in MetLife by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $495,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Davis R M Inc. increased its holdings in MetLife by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

MET opened at $81.58 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.67, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a fifty day moving average of $83.44 and a 200 day moving average of $82.56. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.30 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on MET shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.58.

MetLife Company 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.