Aviva PLC Sells 61,398 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Aviva PLC lessened its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 8.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 673,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 61,398 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC owned about 0.10% of MetLife worth $55,116,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $730,716,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in MetLife by 109.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $722,727,000 after acquiring an additional 4,606,748 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 43.7% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,663,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $463,701,000 after purchasing an additional 1,723,461 shares during the period. Swedbank AB grew its position in MetLife by 76.0% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,466,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $283,862,000 after purchasing an additional 1,496,645 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the 3rd quarter worth about $91,771,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Trading Down 9.5 %

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $68.71 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market cap of $46.81 billion, a PE ratio of 11.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50-day moving average of $82.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.93. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.30 and a 1-year high of $89.05.

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

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MET. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.85.

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.