Ieq Capital LLC Has $1.29 Million Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Ieq Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 37.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,761 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 9,494 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in MetLife were worth $1,291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 80,147 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,562,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 28,781 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,357,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth approximately $82,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 127.9% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 39,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,251,000 after purchasing an additional 22,283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Braun Stacey Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 133,596 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,939,000 after purchasing an additional 2,410 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of MET traded up $2.11 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $86.16. The stock had a trading volume of 4,838,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,569,883. The firm has a market cap of $59.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.72. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.30 and a twelve month high of $89.05. 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 announced its 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 net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. On average, analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife's payout ratio is 36.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MET. Barclays decreased their price objective on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $94.58.

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.