Vontobel Holding Ltd. Purchases 6,322 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 75,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,322 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $6,148,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in MetLife by 244.4% in the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. grew its position in MetLife by 131.9% in the 3rd quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in MetLife by 177.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.17.

MetLife Price Performance

NYSE:MET opened at $81.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $56.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.07. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.30 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $83.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be paid a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.52%.

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.