Mather Group LLC. Raises Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 427 shares during the quarter. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $642,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MET. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of MetLife by 5.3% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 119,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,884,000 after acquiring an additional 6,007 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of MetLife by 29.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $604,000 after acquiring an additional 1,672 shares during the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife during the third quarter valued at approximately $291,000. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 3.3% during the third quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 17,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,454,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the period. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in MetLife by 44.4% during the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 1,873 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MetLife Price Performance

NYSE:MET opened at $84.92 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.07. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.65 and a 52-week high of $89.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $83.96 and a 200 day moving average of $80.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

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 net margin of 5.27% and a return on equity of 20.01%. On average, research analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is 43.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MET shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on MetLife in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on MetLife from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on MetLife from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.17.

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.