Shufro Rose & Co. LLC Cuts Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Shufro Rose & Co. LLC reduced its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,347 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,003 shares during the period. Shufro Rose & Co. LLC's holdings in MetLife were worth $5,269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MET shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut MetLife from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.17.

MetLife Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of MetLife stock traded down $1.10 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $77.93. 2,661,718 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,399,316. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve 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 0.54. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.06.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.06 billion. MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. Research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program 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 purchase up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This is a boost from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.