LPL Financial LLC Sells 115,623 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

LPL Financial LLC lessened its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 13.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 719,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 115,623 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.10% of MetLife worth $58,936,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MET. United Asset Strategies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $895,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. increased its stake in MetLife by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $978,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $495,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Davis R M Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 4,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $352,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE:MET opened at $83.91 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $57.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.30 and a 1 year high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. On average, analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average 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.