KBC Group NV Reduces Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

KBC Group NV trimmed its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,646,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,947 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned approximately 0.24% of MetLife worth $134,842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 5.4% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,299,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $371,993,000 after acquiring an additional 269,246 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,548,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $375,179,000 after purchasing an additional 68,579 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,238,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,735,000 after buying an additional 608,224 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 5.0% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,239,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $184,744,000 after buying an additional 105,762 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 5.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,209,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $182,208,000 after buying an additional 112,491 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on MET shares. StockNews.com downgraded MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on MetLife in a research report on Thursday. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.46.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $85.96 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $59.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.33, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $64.61 and a one year high of $89.05. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.