AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Trims Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lowered its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 3.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 433,747 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 15,116 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc owned 0.06% of MetLife worth $35,771,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,622,348 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,418,612,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974,268 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 22.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,396,274 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $378,799,000 after purchasing an additional 988,666 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 5.4% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,299,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $371,993,000 after purchasing an additional 269,246 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 3.2% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,224,930 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $226,358,000 after purchasing an additional 100,782 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 29.7% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,120,275 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $157,133,000 after purchasing an additional 485,811 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company's stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET remained flat at $81.02 during midday trading on Friday. 3,643,221 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,049,843. The business's 50-day moving average is $81.03 and its 200 day moving average is $75.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $56.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.05. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $59.24 and a 12-month high of $86.94.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on MET shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.46.

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.