Mount Lucas Management LP Sells 665 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Mount Lucas Management LP trimmed its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 665 shares during the quarter. Mount Lucas Management LP’s holdings in MetLife were worth $981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 244.4% during the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in MetLife in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the third quarter worth about $35,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MET. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target 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 cut shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.58.

MetLife Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $82.28 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $56.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.30 and a 52-week high of $89.05. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $83.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.35.

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

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 36.52%.

About MetLife

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.