Boston Common Asset Management LLC Has $13.49 Million Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Boston Common Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 170,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,087 shares during the period. Boston Common Asset Management LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $13,485,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Providence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,649,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 188.1% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 417,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,577,000 after acquiring an additional 272,619 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in MetLife by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,176,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,905,000 after purchasing an additional 96,523 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in MetLife by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,630,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $366,524,000 after purchasing an additional 117,545 shares during the period. Finally, Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its holdings in MetLife by 21.9% during the third quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 137,956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,363,000 after purchasing an additional 24,800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MET stock opened at $68.16 on Tuesday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.21 and a 12 month high of $83.85. The company has a market capitalization of $44.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $74.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.15. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.81% and a net margin of 4.38%.The business had revenue of $52.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.08 earnings per share. MetLife’s revenue was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 3rd. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 48.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore set a $95.00 price target on shares of MetLife in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Barclays set a $90.00 target price on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.42.

About MetLife

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.