Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Lowers Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund decreased its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 530 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in MetLife were worth $4,083,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 244.4% in the third quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 131.9% in the third quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET opened at $82.46 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. The stock has a market cap of $57.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.81, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50-day moving average of $83.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.70. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.30 and a 12-month high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. As a group, research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MET has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.58.

MetLife Company 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.