MetLife, Inc. $MET Shares Sold by O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lowered its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,097,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 77,103 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC owned 0.17% of MetLife worth $86,622,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in MetLife by 205.8% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC grew its position in MetLife by 790.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in MetLife by 58.9% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new position in MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Up 0.1%

MET stock opened at $84.61 on Monday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.33 and a 12 month high of $85.29. The firm has a market cap of $54.44 billion, a PE ratio of 16.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.15. MetLife had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 22.60%. The business had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.96 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be given a $0.5925 dividend. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 45.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MET shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Mizuho set a $95.00 price objective on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.31.

MetLife Company Profile

MetLife, Inc is a global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. Headquartered in New York City, the company offers a range of risk protection and retirement solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life insurance, group benefits, retirement products such as annuities, and supplemental health products including dental and disability coverage.

In addition to traditional life and group insurance, MetLife provides workplace benefits and voluntary products distributed through employer-sponsored programs.