Vaughan David Investments LLC IL Lowers Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Vaughan David Investments LLC IL reduced its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL’s holdings in MetLife were worth $278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 244.4% in the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in MetLife by 131.9% in the third quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.58.

MetLife Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of MET stock opened at $82.29 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.30 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The stock has a market cap of $56.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.69.

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

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

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.