Howard Capital Management Inc. Has $4.32 Million Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Howard Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,059 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $4,322,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in MetLife by 76.0% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,466,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $283,862,000 after purchasing an additional 1,496,645 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in MetLife during the 3rd quarter valued at $91,771,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $142,378,000 after purchasing an additional 762,291 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $78,209,000 after purchasing an additional 682,333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $347,735,000 after purchasing an additional 608,224 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $81.02 on Friday. 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 52 week low of $67.30 and a 52 week high of $89.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.57, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $83.41 and its 200 day moving average is $81.44.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. Sell-side analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MET shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Barclays lowered their price objective on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.58.

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.