Harfst & Associates Inc. Sells 2,948 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Harfst & Associates Inc. reduced its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 36.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,948 shares during the quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $416,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.1% during the 4th 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. grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $978,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 9,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 16,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,375,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen boosted their price target on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays cut their price objective on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. 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 note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.58.

MetLife Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE MET opened at $82.46 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $83.48 and its 200 day moving average is $81.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.30 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The stock has a market cap of $57.10 billion, a PE ratio of 13.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. Research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.