Blueshift Asset Management LLC Reduces Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Blueshift Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET – Free Report) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 515 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its position in MetLife by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $895,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its position in MetLife by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $978,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its holdings in MetLife by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 9,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $781,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $495,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Davis R M Inc. lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays dropped their price objective on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.58.

Get Our Latest Research Report on MET

MetLife Stock Up 1.7 %

MetLife stock opened at $83.02 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.30 and a 1-year high of $89.05. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.57. The company has a market capitalization of $56.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04.

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

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.52%.

About MetLife

(Free Report)

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.

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