Principle Wealth Partners LLC Sells 151 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Principle Wealth Partners LLC cut its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 151 shares during the quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $248,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MET. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 244.4% during the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 131.9% during the 3rd quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 374.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MET has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen upped their price target on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com downgraded MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.08.

MetLife Stock Performance

MET stock opened at $83.24 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.64 billion, a PE ratio of 13.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.07. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.04 and a 12-month high of $89.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.93.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 36.52%.

About MetLife

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.