Private Trust Co. NA Trims Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Private Trust Co. NA cut its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 10.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 829 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in MetLife were worth $588,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MET. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in MetLife by 109.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $722,727,000 after purchasing an additional 4,606,748 shares during the period. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 76.0% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,466,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $283,862,000 after buying an additional 1,496,645 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the third quarter worth about $91,771,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 79.1% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,726,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $142,378,000 after buying an additional 762,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 256.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 948,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,209,000 after acquiring an additional 682,333 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $86.16 on Friday. 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 12 month low of $67.30 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $83.65 and a 200 day moving average of $81.91. The firm has a market cap of $58.69 billion, a PE ratio of 14.43, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share 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%. On average, research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com cut shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays decreased their price target on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.