Blue Trust Inc. Sells 3,382 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Blue Trust Inc. lowered its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 43.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,440 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,382 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in MetLife were worth $364,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $895,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its stake in MetLife by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $978,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its stake in MetLife by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 9,464 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA boosted its stake in MetLife by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 16,675 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,375,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC boosted its stake in MetLife by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 4,264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MET traded down $1.73 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $81.02. 3,282,193 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,504,177. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.30 and a 1 year high of $89.05. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $83.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted 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%. Equities analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MET has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays dropped their price target on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $92.58.

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.