MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Level Four Advisory Services LLC

Level Four Advisory Services LLC trimmed its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 12,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 463 shares during the quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,056,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in MetLife by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 34,437 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,820,000 after buying an additional 2,861 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter worth $730,716,000. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $1,832,000. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 94,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,757,000 after acquiring an additional 2,913 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its position in MetLife by 45.4% during the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET stock opened at $79.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.27, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $67.30 and a one year high of $89.05. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.89.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 36.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.58.

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.