MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Cigna Investments Inc. New

Cigna Investments Inc. New decreased its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 197 shares during the quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New’s holdings in MetLife were worth $491,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MET. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 244.4% in the third quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 131.9% in the third quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 374.3% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

NYSE:MET opened at $83.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $57.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.07. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.04 and a 12-month high of $89.05. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $83.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.88.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (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%. Research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.63 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MET. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. 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 lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.08.

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.