Sit Investment Associates Inc. Invests $5.15 Million in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Sit Investment Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 62,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,151,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MET shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, MetLife has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.85.

MetLife Trading Down 9.5 %

NYSE:MET opened at $68.71 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $46.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.89. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $67.30 and a one year high of $89.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.93.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.