Vanguard Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,037,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 263,256 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.08% of MetLife worth $4,752,102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. CX Institutional increased its holdings in MetLife by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 68,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,568,000 after buying an additional 9,337 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in MetLife by 109.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 4,606,748 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,940 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of MetLife by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 776,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,559,000 after acquiring an additional 12,723 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $259,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Up 2.2 %

NYSE MET opened at $84.15 on Tuesday. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.30 and a 1 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 company has a market capitalization of $57.33 billion, a PE ratio of 14.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a fifty day moving average of $83.52 and a 200 day moving average of $82.73.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (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%. Research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on MET. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen increased their target price 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 report on Thursday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.58.

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.