New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $62.39 Million Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 11.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 756,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 97,052 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in MetLife were worth $62,387,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Abacus Planning Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.0% in the third quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 12,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,015,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 2.0% in the third quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 6,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $576,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.7% in the third quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 8,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $705,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 0.4% in the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 31,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,589,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.0% in the second quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 13,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $964,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price target on MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays lowered their price target on MetLife from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.38.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MET stock opened at $78.43 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $80.59 and its 200-day moving average is $74.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.93 billion, a PE ratio of 15.81, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.89 and a 52 week high of $86.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 5.27%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 43.95%.

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.