Wellington Management Group LLP Reduces Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Wellington Management Group LLP lowered its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 19.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 14,993,388 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,554,976 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 2.20% of MetLife worth $1,227,659,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CX Institutional raised its holdings in MetLife by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 68,005 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,568,000 after buying an additional 9,337 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 109.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $722,727,000 after acquiring an additional 4,606,748 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in MetLife by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 13,692 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 2,940 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in MetLife by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 776,244 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $63,559,000 after purchasing an additional 12,723 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth about $259,000. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MET. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays lowered their target price on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $94.85.

MetLife Stock Down 7.6 %

Shares of MetLife stock traded down $6.27 on Thursday, reaching $76.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,223,113 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,285,857. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.30 and a 52 week high of $89.05. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $82.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market capitalization of $51.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. Equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. 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.