Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC Purchases 240 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 240 shares during the quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $792,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MET. Crumly & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 6,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $518,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV grew its position in MetLife by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 40,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,296,000 after acquiring an additional 1,835 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV increased its holdings in MetLife by 573.8% in the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 30,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,523,000 after purchasing an additional 26,238 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in MetLife by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,485,000 after purchasing an additional 2,139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunpointe LLC bought a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $273,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Down 0.3 %

MetLife stock opened at $82.82 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.30 and a 1-year high of $89.05. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $83.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.26.

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 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, equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on MET. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.58.

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.