Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. Reduces Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. decreased its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 25,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 641 shares during the period. MetLife comprises approximately 2.0% of Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,114,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $895,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. raised its position in MetLife by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $978,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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 valued at $781,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $495,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, Davis R M Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $83.70 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.02, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.30 and a 12 month high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted 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 net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. As a group, analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 36.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on MET. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. 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. TD Cowen raised their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.58.

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.