MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Stake Decreased by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lessened its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,800 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,563,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in MetLife by 244.4% during the third quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in MetLife by 131.9% during the third quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its holdings in MetLife by 374.3% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in MetLife during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE MET opened at $82.41 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.30 and a twelve month high of $89.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $57.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.80, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $83.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.00.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. Equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.63 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MET has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.17.

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.