UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Reduces Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp lessened its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 39,303 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,741 shares during the period. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in MetLife were worth $3,218,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. United Asset Strategies Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $895,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of MetLife by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $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% in 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. lifted its position in MetLife by 2.1% in 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. boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 127 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET opened at $83.70 on Wednesday. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.30 and a 1 year high of $89.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.02 billion, a PE ratio of 14.02, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.79.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly 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%. On average, analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date was 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Barclays cut 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. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.58.

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.