United Community Bank Boosts Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

United Community Bank raised its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the quarter. United Community Bank’s holdings in MetLife were worth $456,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in MetLife by 109.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $722,727,000 after purchasing an additional 4,606,748 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in MetLife by 1.5% in 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 worth $375,179,000 after purchasing an additional 68,579 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in 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 worth $347,735,000 after purchasing an additional 608,224 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in MetLife by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,913,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $320,430,000 after purchasing an additional 30,187 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its position in MetLife by 76.0% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,466,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $283,862,000 after purchasing an additional 1,496,645 shares during the period. 94.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MET shares. BMO Capital Markets initiated 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.58.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET stock opened at $82.28 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $56.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.78, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.30 and a 52-week high of $89.05. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $83.72 and its 200 day moving average is $82.28.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.52%.

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.