UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Reduces Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp lessened its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 39,303 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,741 shares during the period. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in MetLife were worth $3,218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MET. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its stake in MetLife by 1.3% in the third 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. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 64.3% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 69,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,748,000 after buying an additional 27,274 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 14.8% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife in the third quarter worth about $3,240,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 59.5% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

MET opened at $83.70 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $57.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $83.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.79. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.30 and a 52-week high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued 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 net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MET shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen increased their target price on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.