MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Impax Asset Management Group plc

Impax Asset Management Group plc lowered its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 57,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 717 shares during the quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings in MetLife were worth $4,727,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its stake in MetLife by 1.1% in the 4th 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 stake in 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 purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA boosted its stake in MetLife by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 16,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,375,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MET shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.58.

MetLife Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE MET opened at $81.26 on Tuesday. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.30 and a 52 week high of $89.05. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.61. The firm has a market cap of $56.27 billion, a PE ratio of 13.61, 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.52%.

MetLife Company Profile

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.