The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Reduces Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 703,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 24,007 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.10% of MetLife worth $58,051,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. PFG Investments LLC raised its position in MetLife by 8.9% during the third quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 6,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $525,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new position in MetLife in the second quarter valued at $2,346,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in MetLife during the third quarter worth about $2,960,000. PGGM Investments boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 1,803.4% in the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 69,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,899,000 after acquiring an additional 66,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in MetLife during the third quarter worth approximately $1,074,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America lowered their price target on MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. StockNews.com raised MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $88.62.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $88.25 on Thursday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.89 and a 12-month high of $89.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $61.11 billion, a PE ratio of 17.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $76.37.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 5th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.95%.

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.