California Public Employees Retirement System Has $82.76 Million Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,010,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 66,087 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in MetLife were worth $82,764,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $80.32 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $54.72 billion, a PE ratio of 13.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $83.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.98. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.30 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05.

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

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 36.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MET shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays cut their price objective on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.