Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 861,085 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Prudential Financial Inc. cut its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 47.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 951,317 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 861,085 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $77,894,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of MetLife stock opened at $84.15 on Tuesday. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.30 and a twelve month high of $89.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company’s 50 day moving average is $83.52 and its 200 day moving average is $82.73. The company has a market cap of $57.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04.

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

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MET has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.58.

MetLife 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.