Fruth Investment Management Sells 300 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Fruth Investment Management lowered its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Fruth Investment Management’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 244.4% in the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 131.9% in the third quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 374.3% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MET has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.17.

MetLife Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:MET opened at $84.92 on Thursday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.65 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $83.96 and its 200 day moving average is $80.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.80 billion, a PE ratio of 17.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.07.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results 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 5.27% and a return on equity of 20.01%. Sell-side analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.95%.

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.