Prudential PLC Sells 9,700 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

Prudential PLC reduced its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 155,678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,700 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $12,289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MET. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $639,986,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in MetLife by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,555,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,727,518,000 after buying an additional 7,805,814 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its position in MetLife by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 11,883,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $938,071,000 after buying an additional 2,211,315 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 105.3% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,305,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $271,424,000 after purchasing an additional 1,695,563 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 173.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,641,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $135,190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040,894 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MET. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MetLife from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $103.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.31.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $84.61 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20. The company has a market cap of $54.44 billion, a PE ratio of 16.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.78. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $67.33 and a one year high of $85.29.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.49 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 22.60% and a net margin of 4.66%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.96 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be issued a $0.5925 dividend. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.93%.

MetLife Company Profile

MetLife, Inc is a global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. Headquartered in New York City, the company offers a range of risk protection and retirement solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life insurance, group benefits, retirement products such as annuities, and supplemental health products including dental and disability coverage.

In addition to traditional life and group insurance, MetLife provides workplace benefits and voluntary products distributed through employer-sponsored programs.