Independent Advisor Alliance Sells 520 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Independent Advisor Alliance reduced its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 2.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 520 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,016,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of MetLife by 22.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,396,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $378,799,000 after acquiring an additional 988,666 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in MetLife by 5.4% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,299,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $371,993,000 after purchasing an additional 269,246 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in MetLife by 3.2% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,224,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $226,358,000 after purchasing an additional 100,782 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its stake in MetLife by 0.8% in the second quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 2,063,607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $144,845,000 after purchasing an additional 16,985 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its stake in MetLife by 5.3% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,970,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $162,499,000 after purchasing an additional 99,328 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MET has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen initiated coverage on MetLife in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price target on MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays reduced their price target on MetLife from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.46.

MetLife Price Performance

NYSE MET opened at $87.36 on Tuesday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.81 and a 12 month high of $87.64. The stock has a market cap of $60.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.61, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50 day moving average is $82.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 5th. MetLife’s payout ratio is 43.95%.

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.