CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Sells 90,832 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lowered its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 10.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 768,632 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 90,832 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned 0.11% of MetLife worth $62,913,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of MetLife by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,931,536 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $973,901,000 after purchasing an additional 158,107 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter worth approximately $730,716,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 109.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $722,727,000 after buying an additional 4,606,748 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife by 43.7% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,663,177 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $463,701,000 after acquiring an additional 1,723,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in MetLife by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,238,087 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $347,735,000 after acquiring an additional 608,224 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET stock traded up $1.12 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $74.21. 909,856 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,403,414. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $78.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.97. The company has a market cap of $50.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.89. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.21 and a 12-month high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. This is a boost from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group increased their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on MetLife from $109.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.46.

About MetLife

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.