Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 18,571 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 453,983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 18,571 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.07% of MetLife worth $37,172,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 109.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $722,727,000 after acquiring an additional 4,606,748 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,548,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $375,179,000 after acquiring an additional 68,579 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 16.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 608,224 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,913,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $320,430,000 after acquiring an additional 30,187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 76.0% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,466,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $283,862,000 after acquiring an additional 1,496,645 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of MET stock opened at $82.28 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $83.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market capitalization of $56.05 billion, a PE ratio of 13.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.30 and a 12-month high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. As a group, analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MET has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.58.

MetLife 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.