Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Has $14.21 Million Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund reduced its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 173,515 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,200 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in MetLife were worth $14,207,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 25,382 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,078,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares in the last quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 22,679 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,857,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its position in MetLife by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 11,777 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $964,000 after acquiring an additional 1,969 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in MetLife by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 403,492 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,038,000 after acquiring an additional 5,250 shares during the period. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its position in MetLife by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 7,557 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $619,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.58.

MetLife Price Performance

MetLife stock traded up $1.54 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $84.08. 3,057,764 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,546,050. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $83.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.70. The firm has a market cap of $58.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.30 and a 1-year high of $89.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

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

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife's payout ratio is 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.