Kentucky Retirement Systems Reduces Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 557 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in MetLife were worth $3,310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB increased its position in MetLife by 5.3% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,970,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $162,499,000 after buying an additional 99,328 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in MetLife by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,051,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in MetLife by 27.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $790,000 after acquiring an additional 2,076 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in MetLife by 3.1% during the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 4,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWC Advisors LLC. bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the third quarter worth approximately $618,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of MET opened at $81.02 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $83.41 and its 200 day moving average is $81.35. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.30 and a fifty-two week 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 capitalization of $56.10 billion, a PE ratio of 13.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.07.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 36.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on MET. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.58.

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.