MetLife, Inc. $MET Shares Sold by TD Asset Management Inc

TD Asset Management Inc decreased its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 784,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,236 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc’s holdings in MetLife were worth $61,918,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 41.4% during the 4th quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 1,204 shares during the period. REAP Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 3,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 50.4% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 148,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,738,000 after purchasing an additional 49,807 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 291,913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,044,000 after purchasing an additional 4,227 shares during the period. Finally, AXQ Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $799,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $84.61 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $77.84 and a 200 day moving average of $77.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market cap of $54.44 billion, a PE ratio of 16.40, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.78. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $67.33 and a one year high of $85.29.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $14.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.49 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 22.60% and a net margin of 4.66%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be issued a $0.5925 dividend. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. MetLife’s payout ratio is 45.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MetLife from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of MetLife from $91.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.31.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc is a global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. Headquartered in New York City, the company offers a range of risk protection and retirement solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life insurance, group benefits, retirement products such as annuities, and supplemental health products including dental and disability coverage.

In addition to traditional life and group insurance, MetLife provides workplace benefits and voluntary products distributed through employer-sponsored programs.