Harfst & Associates Inc. Sells 2,948 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Harfst & Associates Inc. lowered its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 36.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,948 shares during the period. Harfst & Associates Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $416,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MET. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 holdings 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. bought a new stake in MetLife in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on MET shares. TD Cowen raised their price objective on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays lowered their price objective on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.58.

MetLife Price Performance

MET opened at $82.46 on Thursday. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.30 and a 1 year high of $89.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $83.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.70. The firm has a market cap of $57.10 billion, a PE ratio of 13.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, 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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. Sell-side analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 36.52%.

MetLife Company 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.