MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Bought by Jackson Square Capital LLC

Jackson Square Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 50.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,528 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,219 shares during the period. Jackson Square Capital LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,026,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of MetLife by 5.4% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,299,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $371,993,000 after purchasing an additional 269,246 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,548,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $375,179,000 after buying an additional 68,579 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,238,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $347,735,000 after buying an additional 608,224 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of MetLife by 5.0% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,239,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $184,744,000 after buying an additional 105,762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 5.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,209,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $182,208,000 after acquiring an additional 112,491 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Performance

NYSE MET opened at $86.83 on Friday. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.41. The company has a market cap of $60.12 billion, a PE ratio of 17.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.07. MetLife, Inc. has a 1-year low of $64.61 and a 1-year high of $89.05.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.51%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays upped their price objective on MetLife from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $89.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.92.

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.