MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,010,794 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 66,087 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.15% of MetLife worth $82,764,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $730,716,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in MetLife by 109.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 4,606,748 shares during the period. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in MetLife by 76.0% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,466,808 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $283,862,000 after purchasing an additional 1,496,645 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in MetLife in the third quarter valued at about $91,771,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 256.6% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 948,223 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $78,209,000 after purchasing an additional 682,333 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $94.85.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MetLife stock traded down $7.20 on Friday, reaching $68.71. 8,886,198 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,331,593. The firm has a market cap of $46.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.89. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.30 and a 1-year high of $89.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The company's 50-day moving average is $82.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.93.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last announced 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, research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.