Achmea Investment Management B.V. Grows Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Achmea Investment Management B.V. increased its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 936 shares during the quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,440,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MET. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in MetLife by 7,148.4% in the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 232,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,010,000 after purchasing an additional 228,962 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in MetLife by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 40,455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,312,000 after purchasing an additional 3,354 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in MetLife by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 11,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $917,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in MetLife by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,029 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in MetLife by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 14,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,218,000 after purchasing an additional 2,143 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Performance

Shares of MET stock opened at $80.62 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $83.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.40. The company has a market cap of $54.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.50, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.30 and a 12 month high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released 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 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. Sell-side analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on 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 assumed coverage on MetLife in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered MetLife from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Barclays cut their price objective on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.58.

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.