Trexquant Investment LP Sells 31,360 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Trexquant Investment LP cut its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 13.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 206,838 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 31,360 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP's holdings in MetLife were worth $16,936,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Stock Down 8.1 %

NYSE:MET traded down $6.69 on Thursday, hitting $75.80. 6,197,321 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,303,445. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $82.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.96. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.30 and a 52 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 has a market cap of $51.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04.

Remove Ads

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 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%. As a group, analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued 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 dividend yield of 2.88%. MetLife's payout ratio is 36.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MET. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MetLife currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $94.85.

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.