Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 19.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 18,018 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,323 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,475,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $76.51 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50-day moving average of $77.51 and a 200 day moving average of $81.36. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.21 and a 12 month high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be issued a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.91%.

MetLife announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.69.

About MetLife

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.