Strategic Advisors LLC Acquires 13,690 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 56.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 38,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,690 shares during the period. Strategic Advisors LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $3,123,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.5% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,548,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $375,179,000 after purchasing an additional 68,579 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,238,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,735,000 after purchasing an additional 608,224 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in MetLife by 76.0% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,466,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $283,862,000 after acquiring an additional 1,496,645 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,274,258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $268,096,000 after acquiring an additional 114,166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in MetLife by 5.0% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,239,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $184,744,000 after acquiring an additional 105,762 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MET has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.17.

MetLife Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE MET opened at $81.78 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $56.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.07. 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’s 50-day moving average is $83.41 and its 200-day moving average is $81.08. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $67.30 and a one year high of $89.05.

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 return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

MetLife 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.