New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Reduces Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lessened its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 28,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,100 shares during the quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 244.4% in the third quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in MetLife by 131.9% in the third quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in MetLife in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 177.3% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 266 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 $81.78 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.30 and a 52-week high of $89.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $83.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its 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 net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. Equities research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.63 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MET. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.17.

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.