Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Sells 1,380 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lessened its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET – Get Rating) by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,380 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,182,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MET. Center for Financial Planning Inc. bought a new position in MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in MetLife in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. bought a new position in MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 88.15% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $59.07 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $45.74 billion, a PE ratio of 20.16, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $57.41 and a 1-year high of $77.36. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $70.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $15.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.21 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 15.64% and a net margin of 3.63%. MetLife’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.17 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 6th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on MET shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 6th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $77.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of MetLife from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $80.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Monday, January 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MetLife news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 11,345 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.96, for a total transaction of $816,386.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,326,782.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Susan M. Podlogar sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.91, for a total value of $215,730.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,321,738.63. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bill Pappas sold 11,345 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.96, for a total transaction of $816,386.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,231 shares in the company, valued at $3,326,782.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,202 shares of company stock valued at $1,234,849 in the last three months. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About MetLife

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MetLife, Inc provides insurance and financial services to individual and institutional customers. It offers life insurance, annuities, automobile and homeowner’s insurance and retail banking services to individuals as well as group insurance, reinsurance and retirement and savings products and services.