Brooklyn FI LLC Takes Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Brooklyn FI LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 8,906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $738,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. United Asset Strategies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $895,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Barrett & Company Inc. raised its position in MetLife by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $978,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its holdings in MetLife by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 9,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $781,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Davis R M Inc. grew its stake in shares of MetLife by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of MET opened at $83.02 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $83.44 and its 200-day moving average is $82.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company has a market capitalization of $56.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.30 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (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%. Equities research analysts expect 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 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MET shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, March 7th. 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.58.

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.