Burney Co. Sells 1,558 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Burney Co. reduced its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 75,435 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,558 shares during the quarter. Burney Co.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $6,177,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in MetLife by 22.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,396,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $378,799,000 after acquiring an additional 988,666 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,299,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $371,993,000 after purchasing an additional 269,246 shares during the period. 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 valued at $375,179,000 after purchasing an additional 68,579 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position 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 valued at $347,735,000 after buying an additional 608,224 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in MetLife by 5.0% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,239,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $184,744,000 after buying an additional 105,762 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE:MET opened at $85.16 on Wednesday. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $64.61 and a 52 week high of $89.05. The stock has a market cap of $58.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.17, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $83.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be paid a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MET. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.92.

About MetLife

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.