Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 148,453 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Bessemer Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 7.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,971,874 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 148,453 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. owned about 0.29% of MetLife worth $158,323,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in MetLife by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,240 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 11,777 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $964,000 after purchasing an additional 1,969 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter worth $1,083,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in MetLife by 59.4% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 15,234 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,247,000 after purchasing an additional 5,679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in MetLife by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 5,730 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $469,000 after buying an additional 994 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Stock Down 0.7%

MET stock traded down $0.52 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $79.14. The stock had a trading volume of 3,232,336 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,378,105. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $53.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.86. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $65.21 and a one year high of $89.05. The company's 50 day moving average is $77.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.20.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.04). MetLife had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 20.89%. The business had revenue of $18.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were paid a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. This is a boost from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 6th. MetLife's payout ratio is presently 36.91%.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MET has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group raised their target price on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $94.17.

MetLife Company 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.