IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Has $12.40 Million Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd increased its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 151,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 290 shares during the quarter. MetLife accounts for approximately 1.5% of IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s holdings in MetLife were worth $12,401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MET has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.58.

MetLife Stock Up 0.2 %

MET stock opened at $83.91 on Thursday. MetLife, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.30 and a twelve month high of $89.05. The firm has a market cap of $57.16 billion, a PE ratio of 14.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50 day moving average of $83.50 and a 200 day moving average of $82.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted 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 net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. On average, research analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.60%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio 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.