MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Financial Counselors Inc.

Financial Counselors Inc. lowered its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 536 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $447,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $722,727,000 after acquiring an additional 4,606,748 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its stake in MetLife by 76.0% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,466,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $283,862,000 after purchasing an additional 1,496,645 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $91,771,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 256.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 948,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,209,000 after buying an additional 682,333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of MetLife by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,238,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $347,735,000 after buying an additional 608,224 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Down 4.6 %

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $79.19 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $53.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.30 and a 52-week high of $89.05. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.83. 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 (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on MET. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com downgraded MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.