Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Decreases Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 440,078 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 33,890 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of MetLife worth $36,034,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MET. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in MetLife by 14.8% during the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,899 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 502 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 59.5% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 906 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in MetLife by 3.1% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 22,294 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,839,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in MetLife by 5.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,209,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $182,208,000 after purchasing an additional 112,491 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in MetLife by 3.0% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 27,626 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,279,000 after purchasing an additional 809 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MET shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $94.85.

MetLife Stock Performance

MetLife stock traded down $4.63 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $77.86. 1,703,535 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,279,212. 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 $53.04 billion, a PE ratio of 13.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.