Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 1,277 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Securian Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,259 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,277 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,559,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in MetLife by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 11,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $917,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in MetLife by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,029 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in MetLife by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 14,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,218,000 after acquiring an additional 2,143 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in MetLife by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 166,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,608,000 after buying an additional 2,666 shares during the period. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its holdings in MetLife by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 12,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $993,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.58.

MetLife Trading Up 1.0 %

MET opened at $79.22 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $83.56 and a 200-day moving average of $82.39. The stock has a market cap of $53.97 billion, a PE ratio of 13.27, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.30 and a 52 week high of $89.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. Equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s payout ratio is 36.52%.

MetLife Profile

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.