MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Easterly Investment Partners LLC

Easterly Investment Partners LLC lessened its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 179,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,047 shares during the quarter. MetLife makes up about 1.2% of Easterly Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Easterly Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $14,692,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth about $730,716,000. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations acquired a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $1,832,000. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its stake in MetLife by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 94,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,757,000 after purchasing an additional 2,913 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 45.4% during the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 36,601 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,997,000 after buying an additional 8,709 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MET has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays cut their target price on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target 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 given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.58.

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE MET opened at $83.91 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $57.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.30 and a 1-year high of $89.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $83.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.80.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. As a group, analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s 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.