General American Investors Co. Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. $MET

General American Investors Co. Inc. lessened its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 140,327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 20,000 shares during the period. General American Investors Co. Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $11,559,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in MetLife by 13.4% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 10,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $876,000 after buying an additional 1,285 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 188.1% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 417,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,577,000 after acquiring an additional 272,619 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its position in MetLife by 88.2% during the 2nd quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 6,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $509,000 after purchasing an additional 2,965 shares in the last quarter. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in MetLife in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,608,000. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in MetLife by 256.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 62,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,161,000 after purchasing an additional 45,100 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $77.17 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $78.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.81. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve month high of $87.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.53, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.76.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $12.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.64 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.00% and a net margin of 5.30%.The firm’s revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.95 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 3rd. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 42.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MET has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays set a $90.00 price objective on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Monday, December 29th. Evercore ISI set a $97.00 target price on MetLife and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on MetLife from $95.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.27.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc is a global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs. Headquartered in New York City, the company offers a range of risk protection and retirement solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life insurance, group benefits, retirement products such as annuities, and supplemental health products including dental and disability coverage.

In addition to traditional life and group insurance, MetLife provides workplace benefits and voluntary products distributed through employer-sponsored programs.