Tredje AP fonden Has $41.68 Million Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Tredje AP fonden trimmed its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 509,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,395 shares during the period. Tredje AP fonden’s holdings in MetLife were worth $41,681,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in MetLife by 7,148.4% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 232,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,010,000 after acquiring an additional 228,962 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in MetLife by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 40,455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,312,000 after acquiring an additional 3,354 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 11,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $917,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,029 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 14,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,218,000 after acquiring an additional 2,143 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $79.22 on Thursday. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.30 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05. The stock has a market cap of $53.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.27, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.39.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MET. StockNews.com downgraded MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets began 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.58.

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.