Horizon Investments LLC Trims Position in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Horizon Investments LLC lessened its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 17.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,078 shares during the quarter. Horizon Investments LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,921,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Danske Bank A S lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 381,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,090,000 after purchasing an additional 31,400 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 10,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $792,000 after purchasing an additional 926 shares during the period. Cullinan Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 3,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 205.8% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on MET. Weiss Ratings upgraded MetLife from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America dropped their price objective on MetLife from $103.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. UBS Group upped their price objective on MetLife from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Evercore set a $96.00 price objective on MetLife in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on MetLife from $101.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.38.

MetLife Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $78.95 on Tuesday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.33 and a 12-month high of $83.85. The company has a market cap of $51.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $73.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.53.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.81% and a net margin of 4.38%.The firm had revenue of $52.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be issued a $0.5925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 48.30%.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc is a global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. Headquartered in New York City, the company offers a range of risk protection and retirement solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life insurance, group benefits, retirement products such as annuities, and supplemental health products including dental and disability coverage.

In addition to traditional life and group insurance, MetLife provides workplace benefits and voluntary products distributed through employer-sponsored programs.