MetLife, Inc. $MET Shares Sold by Alpha Cubed Investments LLC

Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lessened its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 132,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,476 shares during the period. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $10,944,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 10,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $876,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased 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 worth $33,577,000 after acquiring an additional 272,619 shares during the period. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife in the second quarter valued at about $1,608,000. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted 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. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in MetLife by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 393,035 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,374,000 after purchasing an additional 30,200 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE:MET opened at $78.22 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $51.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $78.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.78. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve month high of $87.56.

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

MetLife Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho set a $102.00 price target on MetLife in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Barclays set a $90.00 price objective on MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Evercore ISI set a $97.00 target price on shares of MetLife and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average 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.