MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Iowa State Bank

Iowa State Bank decreased its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 52,498 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 762 shares during the quarter. Iowa State Bank’s holdings in MetLife were worth $4,299,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 7,837.0% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,129,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,250,000 after acquiring an additional 1,115,124 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in MetLife in the third quarter valued at $91,771,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in MetLife by 22.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,396,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $378,799,000 after purchasing an additional 988,666 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 79.1% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,726,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $142,378,000 after buying an additional 762,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 256.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 948,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,209,000 after buying an additional 682,333 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MET shares. Barclays reduced their price target on MetLife from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 1st. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $88.62.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET traded up $1.02 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $83.23. The stock had a trading volume of 1,204,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,896,984. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $64.61 and a 1 year high of $89.05. The company has a market capitalization of $57.63 billion, a PE ratio of 16.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.65.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 5th. MetLife’s payout ratio is 43.95%.

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.