LPL Financial LLC Sells 115,623 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

LPL Financial LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 13.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 719,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 115,623 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $58,936,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife by 64.3% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 69,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,748,000 after purchasing an additional 27,274 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 59.5% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in MetLife by 5.5% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 901,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,343,000 after acquiring an additional 47,117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in MetLife by 3.1% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 22,294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,839,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Performance

MetLife stock opened at $83.91 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $83.50 and a 200-day moving average of $82.80. The firm has a market cap of $57.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.30 and a 1-year high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. Sell-side analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MET has been the topic of a number of research reports. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.58.

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.