Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 5,919 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund reduced its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 110,511 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,919 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in MetLife were worth $9,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 33,598 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,751,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 109.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $722,727,000 after acquiring an additional 4,606,748 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $103,000. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 71,535 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,857,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 5,730 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $469,000 after acquiring an additional 994 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. TD Cowen increased 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, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.58.

MetLife Stock Up 2.5 %

MET stock traded up $2.11 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $86.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,838,836 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,579,201. 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 twelve month low of $67.30 and a twelve month high of $89.05. The company's fifty day moving average price is $83.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.43, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07.

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, equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.52%.

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.