Kentucky Retirement Systems Lowers Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Kentucky Retirement Systems reduced its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 9.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 40,982 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,032 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in MetLife were worth $3,380,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in MetLife by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,622,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,418,612,000 after buying an additional 1,974,268 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 1st quarter valued at $131,456,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 7,837.0% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,129,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,250,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115,124 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in MetLife by 22.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,396,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $378,799,000 after purchasing an additional 988,666 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in MetLife by 29.7% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,120,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $157,133,000 after purchasing an additional 485,811 shares during the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen began coverage on MetLife in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on MetLife from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.46.

MetLife Price Performance

MET opened at $83.33 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $57.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.59. MetLife, Inc. has a 12-month low of $61.61 and a 12-month high of $86.94.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.95%.

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.