Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Sells 948 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. decreased its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 948 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,240,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $730,716,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in MetLife by 109.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $722,727,000 after purchasing an additional 4,606,748 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 43.7% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,663,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $463,701,000 after purchasing an additional 1,723,461 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 76.0% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,466,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $283,862,000 after purchasing an additional 1,496,645 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the third quarter worth about $91,771,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:MET opened at $82.61 on Thursday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.30 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 stock has a market capitalization of $56.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.84, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.01.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. Analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.85.

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.