Prudential PLC Reduces Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Prudential PLC trimmed its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MET. Providence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the third quarter worth $6,649,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in MetLife by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,630,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $366,524,000 after purchasing an additional 117,545 shares in the last quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its stake in MetLife by 21.9% during the third quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 137,956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,363,000 after purchasing an additional 24,800 shares in the last quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ raised its stake in MetLife by 6.5% during the third quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 187,358 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,433,000 after purchasing an additional 11,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife during the third quarter valued at $8,091,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Mizuho set a $95.00 price target on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MetLife from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.31.

MetLife Trading Up 1.4%

MET stock opened at $84.61 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization 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 12 month low of $67.33 and a 12 month high of $85.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $77.84 and its 200 day moving average is $77.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20.

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

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.