Buckingham Capital Management Inc. Trims Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Buckingham Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 906 shares during the quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,445,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in MetLife by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 130,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,802,000 after buying an additional 3,964 shares during the period. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 5.3% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,970,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $162,499,000 after acquiring an additional 99,328 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 4.0% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 6,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $577,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in MetLife by 51.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $645,000 after purchasing an additional 2,664 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on MET. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com downgraded MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.17.

MetLife Price Performance

MetLife stock opened at $81.78 on Tuesday. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $83.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.11. 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. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.30 and a 1 year high of $89.05.

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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

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.