Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. Decreases Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. decreased its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 22,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 135 shares during the period. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,846,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Berger Financial Group Inc raised its holdings in MetLife by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc now owns 3,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $6,549,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $14,118,000. New Vernon Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter worth $331,000. Finally, Two Sigma Securities LLC increased its holdings in MetLife by 632.2% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 9,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $779,000 after buying an additional 8,218 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 $75.23 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 one year low of $65.21 and a one year high of $89.05. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.60, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.89.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. On average, analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. This is an increase from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on MetLife from $109.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. 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 report on Friday, April 11th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.46.

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.