MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Bought by Private Advisor Group LLC

Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 80,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $6,562,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. PFG Investments LLC grew its position in shares of MetLife by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 6,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $525,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares during the period. CX Institutional grew its position in shares of MetLife by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 68,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,568,000 after acquiring an additional 9,337 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,960,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of MetLife by 48,101.4% during the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 106,043 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,746,000 after acquiring an additional 105,823 shares during the period. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MetLife during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,074,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE:MET opened at $81.02 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.35. The company has a market cap of $56.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.07. 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 52 week low of $67.30 and a 52 week high of $89.05.

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 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be paid a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MET shares. StockNews.com cut MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.58.

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.