Valley Wealth Managers Inc. Has $23.95 Million Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Valley Wealth Managers Inc. cut its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 292,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,394 shares during the period. MetLife accounts for approximately 1.8% of Valley Wealth Managers Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Valley Wealth Managers Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $23,953,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MET. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 244.4% in the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 131.9% in the 3rd quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in MetLife during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays cut their price target on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.17.

MetLife Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:MET opened at $81.78 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $56.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $83.41 and its 200 day moving average is $81.11. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.30 and a 12 month high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted 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 return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. Sell-side analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.63 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 36.52%.

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.