Jones Financial Companies Lllp Raises Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 30.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 19,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,594 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 244.4% during the third quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in MetLife in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of MetLife during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.58.

MetLife Price Performance

MetLife stock opened at $82.18 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.76, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $83.72 and a 200-day moving average of $82.15. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.30 and a 52-week high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.52%.

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.