State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Trims Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 209,835 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,822 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in MetLife were worth $17,181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 244.4% during the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 131.9% during the 3rd quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MET shares. Barclays cut their price target on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $92.58.

MetLife Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MET traded down $1.73 during trading on Friday, hitting $81.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,282,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,616,223. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $83.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.35. The company has a market capitalization of $56.10 billion, a PE ratio of 13.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. 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 released 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 return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. As a group, research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.