Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Sells 6,664 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 170,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,664 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $13,946,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. CWM LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 18,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,506,000 after acquiring an additional 2,383 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 504.3% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 6,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 5,300 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the third quarter valued at approximately $214,000. CRA Financial Services LLC bought a new position in MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $200,000. Finally, Carnegie Investment Counsel lifted its holdings in MetLife by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 6,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $497,000 after buying an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.08.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $83.99 on Monday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $66.18 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 company has a market capitalization of $58.16 billion, a PE ratio of 14.07, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.83.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. On average, research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.63 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.60%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 36.52%.

MetLife 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.