Vestcor Inc Sells 1,963 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Vestcor Inc reduced its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 15.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,437 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,963 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in MetLife were worth $855,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of MetLife by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,970,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $162,499,000 after acquiring an additional 99,328 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in MetLife by 37.0% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new position in MetLife in the third quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 2,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of MetLife by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 15,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,292,000 after buying an additional 557 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MET has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.58.

MetLife Stock Up 3.8 %

MET opened at $80.62 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.30 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.50, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s 50-day moving average is $83.44 and its 200 day moving average is $82.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. Research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s payout ratio is 36.52%.

MetLife Company Profile

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.