Banco Santander S.A. Buys 2,202 Shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Banco Santander S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 40.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,202 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $631,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MET. Abacus Planning Group Inc. grew its holdings in MetLife by 1.0% during the third quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 12,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,015,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 6,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $576,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 8,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $705,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 0.4% in the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 31,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,589,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in MetLife by 1.0% during the second quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 13,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $964,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MET. Barclays decreased their target price on MetLife from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on MetLife in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.46.

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE MET opened at $86.60 on Friday. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.81 and a 1 year high of $86.94. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.96 billion, a PE ratio of 17.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.05.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. MetLife’s payout ratio is 43.95%.

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.