MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Acquired by Parallel Advisors LLC

Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 94.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,877 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,162,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. United Asset Strategies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $895,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $978,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 9,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $781,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $495,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, Davis R M Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MET. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.58.

MetLife Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE MET opened at $83.02 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.57. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.30 and a 12 month high of $89.05. The company has a market capitalization of $56.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.91, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released 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 return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. Equities research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. MetLife’s payout ratio is currently 36.52%.

MetLife Company 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.