Midland Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 848 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Midland Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 9,505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 848 shares during the period. Midland Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $778,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in MetLife by 109.2% during the fourth 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 position in shares of MetLife by 76.0% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,466,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $283,862,000 after buying an additional 1,496,645 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $91,771,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its holdings 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 worth $142,378,000 after acquiring an additional 762,291 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position 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 worth $78,209,000 after acquiring an additional 682,333 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.58.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $82.28 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.30 and a 52 week high of $89.05. The firm has a market cap of $56.05 billion, a PE ratio of 13.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $83.72 and its 200-day moving average is $82.35.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. Sell-side analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

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