MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Pzena Investment Management LLC

Pzena Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 8.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,803,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 832,905 shares during the quarter. MetLife makes up approximately 2.5% of Pzena Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Pzena Investment Management LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $720,845,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. United Asset Strategies Inc. boosted its holdings in MetLife by 1.1% during 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 holdings in MetLife by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $978,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $781,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $495,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, Davis R M Inc. boosted its holdings in MetLife by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MET shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.58.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $79.11 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.30 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.89 billion, a PE ratio of 13.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.38.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, equities research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.