MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Stock Holdings Lessened by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 659,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,310 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of MetLife worth $53,980,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $895,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $978,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 9,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $781,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $495,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA boosted its holdings in MetLife by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 16,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,375,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.58.

MetLife Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $82.82 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.30 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $83.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $57.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be paid a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.52%.

About MetLife

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.