MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. cut its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,058,228 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 42,291 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $86,648,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. United Asset Strategies Inc. boosted its holdings in MetLife by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $895,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $978,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its position in shares of MetLife by 1.3% during the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 9,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $781,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $495,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, Davis R M Inc. raised its holdings in MetLife by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Up 2.2 %

MET stock opened at $84.15 on Tuesday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.30 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 company has a market cap of $57.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $83.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.73.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.59%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MET shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lowered their price target on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MetLife has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.58.

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.