MetLife, Inc. $MET Shares Sold by Securian Asset Management Inc.

Securian Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 44.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 15,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,929 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,188,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Trustmark Bank Trust Department grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.6% during the third quarter. Trustmark Bank Trust Department now owns 2,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in MetLife by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in MetLife by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 7,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $580,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 13,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,146,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 30,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,402,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

MET stock opened at $78.66 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $73.56 and a 200-day moving average of $76.52. The company has a market cap of $50.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.24, a PEG ratio of 0.69 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 0.53. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.33 and a 12-month high of $83.85.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $14.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.49 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 22.60% and a net margin of 4.66%.The company’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on MET. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “moderate buy” rating and set a $87.00 price target on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of MetLife from $103.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MetLife from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of MetLife from $91.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.31.

MetLife Profile

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.