National Bank of Canada FI Reduces Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

National Bank of Canada FI decreased its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 414,557 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 47,111 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.06% of MetLife worth $33,943,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. United Asset Strategies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $895,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. grew its stake in MetLife by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $978,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its position in MetLife by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $495,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Davis R M Inc. grew its position in shares of MetLife by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,148 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,091 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on MET. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.85.

MetLife Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of MET traded down $1.07 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $68.00. 3,406,056 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,693,278. 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 has a market cap of $46.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.89. The stock's 50-day moving average is $82.41 and its 200-day moving average is $82.96. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.21 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

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.