Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Sells 4,388 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS decreased its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 123,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,388 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in MetLife were worth $10,126,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MET. United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its position in shares of MetLife by 1.1% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. increased its position in MetLife by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $978,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its position in MetLife by 1.3% during 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 in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its position in MetLife by 2.1% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Davis R M Inc. boosted its stake in MetLife by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on MET shares. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lowered their target price on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment 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 company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.58.

MetLife Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of MET stock opened at $82.33 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.30 and a 12-month high of $89.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $83.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued 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 return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. Equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.