MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Bought by Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,741 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,249 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $2,435,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 244.4% in the third quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MetLife by 131.9% in the third quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in MetLife during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET stock opened at $86.16 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $58.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $83.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.99. 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MET. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.58.

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.