Nuveen Asset Management LLC Has $342.53 Million Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,183,318 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 44,104 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned about 0.60% of MetLife worth $342,530,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MET. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of MetLife from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $92.69.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET stock traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $80.80. The stock had a trading volume of 2,976,499 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,411,606. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $65.21 and a one year high of $89.05. The firm has a market cap of $54.24 billion, a PE ratio of 13.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $77.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

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

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 represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. This is an increase from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. MetLife's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.91%.

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

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.