Candriam S.C.A. Sells 193,802 Shares of MetLife, Inc. $MET

Candriam S.C.A. reduced its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 71.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 76,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 193,802 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $6,333,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MET. Quaker Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 198.2% in the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 95.4% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in MetLife by 564.1% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in MetLife in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MET. Evercore set a $97.00 target price on shares of MetLife and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Evercore ISI set a $95.00 price objective on shares of MetLife in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $101.00 target price on shares of MetLife and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.58.

MetLife Price Performance

MET stock opened at $77.89 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $51.32 billion, a PE ratio of 16.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.77. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.21 and a 12 month high of $87.39. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $78.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $18.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.43 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 21.81%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 48.30%.

MetLife Profile

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.