Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. Sells 20,631 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. cut its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 20.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 82,195 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 20,631 shares during the period. MetLife makes up about 1.3% of Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings in MetLife were worth $6,599,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 33.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 24,663,239 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,019,427,000 after purchasing an additional 6,213,923 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,931,536 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $973,901,000 after buying an additional 158,107 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth about $730,716,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,052,202 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $577,434,000 after acquiring an additional 958,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in MetLife by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,434,737 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $526,869,000 after purchasing an additional 290,734 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MET shares. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.17.

MetLife Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of MetLife stock traded down $0.65 during trading on Friday, reaching $79.50. The stock had a trading volume of 1,617,752 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,365,826. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $53.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $78.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.11. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.21 and a 52 week high of $89.05.

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

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.5675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. This is a boost from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.91%.

MetLife declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are 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.