Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $24.07 Million Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lowered its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 293,954 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 22,490 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA's holdings in MetLife were worth $24,069,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,209,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $182,208,000 after acquiring an additional 112,491 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in MetLife during the third quarter worth approximately $9,357,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife in the third quarter worth approximately $232,000. Atom Investors LP acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 3rd quarter valued at $358,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 556.9% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 15,910 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,313,000 after buying an additional 13,488 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MET. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $94.85.

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MetLife Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE MET traded up $1.45 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $82.61. 3,205,119 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,285,018. The stock has a market cap of $56.28 billion, a PE ratio of 13.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. 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 fifty day moving average is $83.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.01. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.30 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share 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, analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.52%.

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.