Versor Investments LP Lowers Holdings in MetLife, Inc. $MET

Versor Investments LP reduced its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 56.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 18,331 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,171,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,585 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.9% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in MetLife by 1.9% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 7,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $580,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in MetLife by 1.0% in the third quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 13,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,146,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the topic of a number of research reports. Mizuho set a $102.00 price target on MetLife in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Barclays set a $90.00 price target on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Evercore set a $97.00 price target on MetLife and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $101.00 target price on MetLife and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Two 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.64.

MetLife Stock Down 0.1%

MET opened at $76.29 on Tuesday. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.21 and a 52 week high of $87.39. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $78.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market cap of $50.27 billion, a PE ratio of 16.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.77.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.24. MetLife had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 21.81%. The firm had revenue of $18.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 3rd. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.30%.

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.