MetLife, Inc. $MET Shares Sold by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council lowered its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 7.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 92,284 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,200 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in MetLife were worth $7,601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in MetLife by 95.4% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 564.1% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in MetLife by 413.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MetLife from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Mizuho set a $100.00 target price on MetLife in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays set a $90.00 price target on MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on MetLife from $97.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.18.

MetLife Price Performance

MET stock opened at $72.62 on Wednesday. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.21 and a 1 year high of $85.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The business’s 50-day moving average is $77.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.84.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.15. MetLife had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 21.81%. The firm had revenue of $52.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.30%.

MetLife Company 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.