Woodward Diversified Capital LLC Sells 4,848 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Woodward Diversified Capital LLC lowered its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 42.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,536 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,848 shares during the period. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $535,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. United Asset Strategies Inc. lifted its position in MetLife by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $895,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of MetLife by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $978,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 9,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $781,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC grew its stake in MetLife by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 4,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $352,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA increased its position in MetLife by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 16,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,375,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.08.

MetLife Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $83.99 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $66.18 and a 12-month high of $89.05. The business has a 50 day moving average of $83.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.73. The company has a market capitalization of $58.16 billion, a PE ratio of 16.93, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.07.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.01% and a net margin of 5.27%. As a group, analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.18 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be paid a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.