Jennison Associates LLC Has $244.94 Million Holdings in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Jennison Associates LLC cut its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,102,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 43,175 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $244,942,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MET. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the first quarter worth $307,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 187.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,680,000 after purchasing an additional 21,771 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the second quarter worth $404,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the second quarter worth $444,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on MetLife from $101.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on MetLife from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on MetLife from $91.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Wall Street Zen raised MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.38.

MetLife Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE:MET opened at $79.42 on Thursday. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.33 and a 1 year high of $83.85. 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 market cap of $51.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.87, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $73.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.57.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $31.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.85 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.5925 dividend. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.30%.

MetLife Company 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.