Baird Financial Group Inc. Has $43.24 Million Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Baird Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 528,104 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,416 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned 0.08% of MetLife worth $43,241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MET. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $92.46.

MetLife Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $77.39 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve month high of $89.05. The company's fifty day moving average is $77.66 and its 200-day moving average is $81.40. The stock has a market cap of $52.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.04). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. The business had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. This is a boost from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.91%.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

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