General American Investors Co. Inc. Reduces Position in MetLife, Inc. $MET

General American Investors Co. Inc. lowered its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 12.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 140,327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 20,000 shares during the quarter. General American Investors Co. Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $11,559,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Intact Investment Management Inc. raised its position in MetLife by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 15.9% in the third quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. now owns 474,891 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,087,000 after buying an additional 65,081 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 5.5% during the third quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 3,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.9% during the third quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $660,000 after buying an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFG Investments LLC increased its position in MetLife by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 8,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $691,000 after acquiring an additional 1,127 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $77.17 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 0.18. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $65.21 and a one year high of $87.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.53, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s fifty day moving average is $78.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.81.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $12.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.64 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 21.00%. The business’s revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.95 EPS. Analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 42.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on MET. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays set a $90.00 price target on MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $101.00 price objective on shares of MetLife and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Mizuho set a $102.00 price objective on shares of MetLife in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.27.

MetLife 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.