MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 83.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 58,191 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in MetLife were worth $938,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $895,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. grew its stake in MetLife by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $978,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC increased its position in MetLife by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 2,707 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in MetLife by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $495,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Davis R M Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,148 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays cut their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $93.08.

MetLife Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:MET opened at $80.25 on Wednesday. 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's 50 day moving average is $77.12 and its 200-day moving average is $81.15. The firm has a market cap of $53.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.21 and a 12 month high of $89.05.

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

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

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be issued a $0.5675 dividend. This is a boost from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio is 36.91%.

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.

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