UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Trims Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd cut its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 264,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,583 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in MetLife were worth $21,623,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MET. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MET shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut 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. StockNews.com downgraded MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Barclays lowered their price objective on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research 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 Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $83.91 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market cap of $57.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.80. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.30 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05.

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

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.60%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.