Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 3,850 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. cut its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 188,001 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,850 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $15,394,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MET. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.58.

MetLife Stock Down 4.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $79.19 on Monday. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.30 and a 52-week high of $89.05. The company has a market capitalization of $53.95 billion, a PE ratio of 13.27, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $83.29 and a 200-day moving average of $82.94.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

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