Whittier Trust Co. Has $1.26 Million Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Whittier Trust Co. lessened its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 195 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

MET stock opened at $82.33 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $83.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.60. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.30 and a 1 year high of $89.05. The stock has a market cap of $56.09 billion, a PE ratio of 13.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. 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 (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. Equities analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MET shares. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.