Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Sells 23,350 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. reduced its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 924,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 23,350 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of MetLife worth $75,729,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of MetLife by 455.9% in the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 306,352 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,084,000 after purchasing an additional 251,238 shares during the period. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC raised its position in shares of MetLife by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC now owns 7,016 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $574,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 42,227 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,458,000 after acquiring an additional 5,510 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 42,431 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,484,000 after acquiring an additional 4,722 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its stake in MetLife by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 1,085,794 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $88,905,000 after acquiring an additional 67,032 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company's stock.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $77.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.21 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05. The stock has a market cap of $52.24 billion, a PE ratio of 13.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $77.09 and a 200-day moving average of $81.22.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. The company 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 company earned $1.83 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 5.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This is a positive change from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. MetLife's payout ratio is 36.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MET has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $92.69.

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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