MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Signaturefd LLC

Signaturefd LLC lessened its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 238 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,007,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in MetLife by 94.1% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 14,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,162,000 after purchasing an additional 6,877 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 33,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,726,000 after acquiring an additional 1,551 shares in the last quarter. Choate Investment Advisors grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 4,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 290,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,756,000 after acquiring an additional 23,814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 9,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $746,000 after acquiring an additional 1,163 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE MET opened at $81.58 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $55.58 billion, a PE ratio of 13.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $67.30 and a one year high of $89.05. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $83.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.56.

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

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid 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 dividend yield of 2.67%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on MET shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.58.

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.