State of Alaska Department of Revenue Lowers Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue trimmed its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 11.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 66,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,319 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in MetLife were worth $5,430,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MET. United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its position in MetLife by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $895,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its position in shares of MetLife by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 9,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $781,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA lifted its stake in MetLife by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 16,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,375,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its stake in MetLife by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 6,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $576,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.08.

MetLife Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of MET stock opened at $83.99 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $66.18 and a 1-year high of $89.05. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.73. The firm has a market cap of $58.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.93, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 20.01% and a net margin of 5.27%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.18 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.52%.

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.