Aquatic Capital Management LLC Takes $6.55 Million Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 79,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,549,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 33.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 24,663,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,019,427,000 after buying an additional 6,213,923 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in MetLife by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,931,536 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $973,901,000 after purchasing an additional 158,107 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at about $730,716,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in MetLife by 109.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $722,727,000 after purchasing an additional 4,606,748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,434,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $526,869,000 after purchasing an additional 290,734 shares in the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of MET stock opened at $75.23 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $78.35 and a 200-day moving average of $81.80. The firm has a market cap of $51.25 billion, a PE ratio of 12.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.89. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.21 and a 12 month high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. On average, equities analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be paid a $0.5675 dividend. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MET shares. StockNews.com cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $109.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.46.

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.