Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 102,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. MetLife comprises approximately 1.6% of Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $8,419,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC grew its position in MetLife by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $792,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. grew its position in MetLife by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 6,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $518,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 40,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,296,000 after purchasing an additional 1,835 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 573.8% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,485,000 after purchasing an additional 2,139 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MET shares. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays cut their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.58.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET stock opened at $81.02 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.30 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The stock has a market cap of $56.10 billion, a PE ratio of 13.57, 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. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $83.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.35.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its 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 expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.