MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Stake Decreased by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,010,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 66,087 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.15% of MetLife worth $82,764,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MET shares. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays lowered their target price on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.58.

MetLife Stock Up 1.4 %

MET stock opened at $80.32 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.98. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.30 and a 52-week high of $89.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced 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 net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 36.52%.

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.