Amalgamated Bank Reduces Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Amalgamated Bank trimmed its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 111,781 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,089 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in MetLife were worth $9,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 5.3% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,970,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $162,499,000 after purchasing an additional 99,328 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in MetLife by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 36,817 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,037,000 after buying an additional 6,833 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife by 8.9% during the third quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 6,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $525,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the third quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.1% in the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 5,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.58.

MetLife Trading Up 1.3 %

MetLife stock opened at $82.29 on Wednesday. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $67.30 and a one year high of $89.05. The stock has a market cap of $56.98 billion, a PE ratio of 13.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07. 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 50-day moving average of $83.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.69.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. On average, research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.