Sanctuary Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 131,085 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,377 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $11,404,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MET. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 76.0% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,466,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $283,862,000 after purchasing an additional 1,496,645 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 3rd quarter worth about $91,771,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 79.1% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,726,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $142,378,000 after purchasing an additional 762,291 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 256.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 948,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,209,000 after purchasing an additional 682,333 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,238,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,735,000 after purchasing an additional 608,224 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET opened at $82.31 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $83.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.15. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.30 and a 52-week high of $89.05. The firm has a market cap of $57.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.79, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. Analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.17.

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.