Hartford Investment Management Co. Reduces Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Hartford Investment Management Co. cut its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 39,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 956 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $3,260,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MET. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 18,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,506,000 after acquiring an additional 2,383 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 3rd quarter worth about $214,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in shares of MetLife by 54.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional increased its position in shares of MetLife by 703.9% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 58,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,839,000 after purchasing an additional 51,370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning increased its position in shares of MetLife by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 130,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,802,000 after purchasing an additional 3,964 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE MET opened at $82.77 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $57.31 billion, a PE ratio of 13.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $83.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.98. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.04 and a twelve month high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly 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%. On average, research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.63 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

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 $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MET. StockNews.com downgraded MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen raised their price objective on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.17.

MetLife Company 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.