Prudential PLC Decreases Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Prudential PLC lessened its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 25.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 191,985 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 66,953 shares during the period. Prudential PLC's holdings in MetLife were worth $15,720,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on MET. Barclays dropped their price objective on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $94.85.

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MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET stock traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $69.27. The stock had a trading volume of 9,179,751 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,354,891. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.31 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $82.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.96. The firm has a market cap of $47.19 billion, a PE ratio of 11.60, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.89.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.