TCW Group Inc. Sells 27,342 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

TCW Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 730,983 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 27,342 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. owned about 0.11% of MetLife worth $59,853,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 403,492 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,038,000 after acquiring an additional 5,250 shares during the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its holdings 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 worth $619,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,674 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $792,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Crumly & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 6,326 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $518,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Forte Capital LLC ADV grew its position in shares of MetLife by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 40,252 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,296,000 after buying an additional 1,835 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $82.46. The stock had a trading volume of 2,394,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,558,941. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.30 and a 12-month high of $89.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $83.41 and a 200-day moving average of $81.69. The company has a market capitalization of $57.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 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, research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MET shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays cut their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $92.58.

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.