MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 29.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,981 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 28,845 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in MetLife were worth $5,566,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the third quarter valued at $91,771,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 79.1% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,726,209 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $142,378,000 after buying an additional 762,291 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in MetLife by 256.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 948,223 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $78,209,000 after acquiring an additional 682,333 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in MetLife by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,238,087 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $347,735,000 after acquiring an additional 608,224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 107.5% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 30,542 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,501,000 after purchasing an additional 435,807 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of MET traded up $0.43 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $87.07. 2,178,466 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,530,110. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.35. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $64.61 and a 12-month high of $89.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $60.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays upped their target price on MetLife from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. 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 research note on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $90.46.

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.