MetLife, Inc. $MET Position Trimmed by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,813,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 270,404 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.88% of MetLife worth $458,928,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in MetLife by 205.8% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 790.0% during the third quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 58.9% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Up 1.4%

MET stock opened at $84.61 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.33 and a 12-month high of $85.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a market cap of $54.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50 day moving average of $77.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.00.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.15. MetLife had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 22.60%. The company had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be paid a $0.5925 dividend. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of MetLife from $103.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.31.

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.