Golden State Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $44,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MET. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 18,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,506,000 after acquiring an additional 2,383 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new stake in MetLife in the third quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its holdings in MetLife by 8.9% in the third quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 6,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 98.3% during the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 54.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.08.

MetLife Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MET opened at $83.24 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $83.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.93. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $67.04 and a one year high of $89.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.64 billion, a PE ratio of 13.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.07.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. On average, equities analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. MetLife’s payout ratio is 36.52%.

MetLife Company Profile

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.