MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Quent Capital LLC

Quent Capital LLC decreased its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 408 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $582,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 15.0% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 18,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,506,000 after purchasing an additional 2,383 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 6,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $497,000 after buying an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife by 98.3% during the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its position in shares of MetLife by 54.5% during the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets started 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. Barclays decreased their price target on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.08.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MET opened at $83.24 on Wednesday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.04 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $83.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.93. The company has a market cap of $57.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.94, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.07.

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

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. 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 2.62%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.52%.

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.